Freelancer
by BookishTen8
Summary: Expelled from Beacon Academy, Jaune Arc disappeared off the face of Remnant. Ten years later, a private military force with advanced technology suddenly appears out of nowhere, along with a familiar face. Will the Freelancers help Ozpin in the war against Salem? Or do they have their own agenda? Elements from Red Vs Blue, Apex Legends and more.
1. Meet the Freelancers

**Author's Note: There will be characters and elements from Apex Legends, Code Geass, Gears of War, Halo, Red Vs Blue, etc. **

**Enjoy.**

**xXx**

**( Beacon - Ozpin's Office )**

"I'm expelled?" replied Jaune Arc, hearing the words coming out of his mouth, but having a hard time actually believing them.

A stone faced Ozpin nods while Glynda stands beside Headmaster, glaring daggers at Jaune. "Mr. Arc, it has come to my attention-"

Glynda coughs into her fist, pointing an accusing glare at Ozpin.

Ozpin sighs. "To _our _attention that you have cheated on your enrollment by providing Beacon with fake transcripts. Do you deny this?"

Feeling his chest tighten, Jaune looks down at his feet and shakes his head. "N-No, I don't." Jaune can't deny what the Headmaster already knows. He just hasn't been expecting to be caught after spending a whole month as a student in Beacon Academy.

Although, he didn't expect for Cardin Winchester to find out about his fake transcripts either, but that didn't stop his bully from finding out and using that knowledge to blackmail him into doing his assignments and homework for the past week. Not only did he hate every second of doing everything Cardin asked him to, but it put a heavy strain on his relationship with his team, especially his partner.

And then, that moment came in Forever Fall where Cardin was attacked by an Alpha Ursa. The Grimm would have killed him, if not for Jaune coming in to save his bully from being Grimm chow. Afterwards, he had thought that they patched things up, but seeing as he's currently being expelled, he guesses that Cardin didn't patch up anything.

Ozpin doesn't look any bit surprised, but Glynda looks like she's attempting to set Jaune on fire with her glare alone. "I see. Therefore, I have no other choice but to expel you from Beacon Academy and ask you to leave the premises immediately. Can you please hand over your student identification."

Refusing to look either the Headmaster or Vice Headmistress in the eyes, Jaune slowly takes out his wallet so he can retrieve his student ID from it. Reluctantly, the former pupil places the ID card onto Ozpin's desk. Turning around, Jaune heads towards the elevator that will take him away from the Headmaster's office, as well as his dreams to becoming a Huntsman.

However, Glynda isn't finished with Jaune yet. "If it was up to me, I would have pressed all charges on you and see that you spend a number of your years behind bars, young man."

Jaune stops just as he's about to enter the elevator. While he doesn't turn around, Jaune does move his head slightly to his left shoulder. "Is it wrong... wanting to save lives?"

Before Ozpin can speak, Glynda does so in his behalf. "How can we trust the lives of anyone to those who cheat and lie?"

Jaune doesn't react to Glynda's statement, but does slowly turn his head and walks into the elevator. It's only when the elevator door is about to fully close does he turn around.

And that brief second of eye contact between Ozpin and Jaune has left an everlasting impression on the Headmaster.

For Ozpin can't recall the last time he has ever seen someone with eyes that burn so bright.

**( Ten Years Later - Ozpin's Office ) **

Looking out the window from his office, Ozpin can't help but feel exhausted over everything that has happened recently. In the past ten years, everything has only gotten worse for Remnant as a whole.

Terrorist attacks have risen to an all new high. The White Fang have been causing death and mayhem all across Remnant and their numbers seem to swell with new recruits. Not like the Kingdoms do anything to halt the unfair treatment of Faunus, even going so far as to accuse Faunus altogether for the White Fang attacks. That has not only worsen the views of Faunus in general, but has likely increased recruitment for the terrorist organization.

With the negativity increasing because of the terrorist attacks, it's no surprise that Grimm activity has been increasing over the past few years. With the increase of negativity, more and more frontier towns have fallen from Grimm attacks. This has also increased the Grimm activity outside the walls of each Kingdom, meaning that the Hunters are working overtime to make sure the Grimm don't manage to breach the walls. Sadly, the knowledge that the Grimm are lurking so close to the city has only upset the citizens of Vale and further increased negativity.

With the increased attacks of terrorists and Grimm, it's no surprise that bandits have been increasing their own attacks as well. Whatever frontier towns that aren't being attacked by Grimm, they're being raided and plundered by malicious bandits who take anything they want before leaving the ransacked towns for the Grimm to feast on.

However, a viscous blow came to Ozpin five years ago when word from Shade Academy's Headmistress informed him that the Summer Maiden had ran off from her responsibilities. He has had Qrow and James search for the Maiden for the past five years and so far, there has been no sign of her. He fears that Salem may have gotten to her before he can, but he has no evidence to prove this.

Ozpin can't help but feel like he has failed the world. The death toll is only getting bigger and it'll only get worse now that Salem is practically as his doorstep.

Hearing the elevator open, Ozpin closes his eyes to straighten his thoughts before turning around to face Team RWBY.

In the end of their fourth year, he had informed the entire team of the knowledge of Salem, as well as the Maidens and Relics. After informing them of the threat out there in Remnant, he offered them to join his inner circle and just like he expected, they all agreed to join him.

In the past ten years, Team RWBY have all changed in more ways than one.

Ruby Rose looks so much like Summer that if not for her hood being red and not white, Ozpin could mistaken the pair as such. Over the years, the Huntress's skill with Crescent Rose has grown so far that she has come to match, if not surpass Qrow. As well as that, Ruby has been learning to harness the powers of her Silver Eyes. While the first three years were slow going, they were lucky to meet another member of the Silver Eye Clan, Maria Calavera or what she was famously known as, the _Grimm Reaper. _With Maria's guidance, Ruby has managed to learn on how to use her Silver Eyes. While she hasn't mastered the ability, she can turn a small army of Grimm into stone with a powerful glance, making her very beneficial in the fight against Salem.

Just like her sister, Yang has come to inherit her own mother's appearance, although with blonde hair instead of black. Yang has grown quite well in the past few years, having surpassed her father in hand-to-hand combat, although Ozpin can guess that Taiyang's lack of going on missions anymore has made his skills grow lax over the years. Still Yang has managed to grow even stronger over the years and while her temper may still get the better of her, she has learned to channel it so her enemies can't use her rage to their advantage.

Honestly, Ozpin believes that Weiss Schnee hasn't changed any bit, appearance-wise anyway. She remains prim and proper, but there's a strong steel in her eyes that shows she isn't a princess like her appearance may make others believe her to be. Under the guidance of her older sister, Weiss has managed to increase her knowledge and skill of her family's Semblance, now fully capable of summoning foes that she has previously defeated. It is a skill she has shown to use with great efficiency when dealing with both Grimm and White Fang. Due to recent events, she has taken more missions than any other on her team and while it is good to see less Grimm in Remnant, Ozpin knows that it isn't healthy. He'll need to have a chat with her before something irreversible happens.

While she has grown in both skill and strength, Ozpin can agree that Blake remains to be the most complicated member among Team RWBY. Just like the rest of her team, Ozpin knows all about Blake's past with the White Fang and hasn't judged her for it. Just like every other child, she has made mistakes and he understands that. However, Blake believes that the White Fang is a problem that she must deal with herself. Much to Ozpin's chagrin, she holds a hope that she can somehow change the White Fang for the better, something that Ozpin knows will be impossible to achieve. While her attire may have changed, she remains wearing her black bow, something that Ozpin doesn't fully agree with. Where she could be using her position as a Huntress to improve the image of Faunus, she continues to hide her heritage. He can somewhat understand, since the treatment of Faunus has only gotten worse over the years, but it's still disheartening to see.

**( Team RWBY - Season 4 Outfits )**

"Headmaster, you wanted to see us?" asked Weiss, acting as the voice for the team.

"I have" nodded Ozpin as he takes his seat behind the desk. "As I'm sure you're all aware of, the Vytal Festival will be taking place in Vale this year."

"I know and I can't wait!" cheered Ruby with stars in her eyes. She has been shaking in excitement over the thought of watching this year's Vytal Festival in person instead of on a television. While she likes the funfairs and the stalls, it's the tournament that always brings out the most joy in her. "You think they're going to have that cookie pizza I recommended?"

"Don't interrupt the Headmaster while he's speaking!"

Ozpin chuckles over Ruby's excitement and Weiss's rebuttal. "As I was saying, the Vytal Festival will be taking place in Vale this year, but with the lack of security and the constant threat of Grimm and the White Fang, there is talk from the Council that the event may be cancelled this year."

All of Team RWBY look surprised to hear that. "No Vytal Festival this year?" asked Weiss in disbelief.

"I can understand why they might want to cancel it, but if the Council hasn't noticed, everyone isn't exactly in high spirits outside" pointed out Yang. On her way to Beacon after finishing her latest mission, she saw a lot of anxious and depressed faces on the streets of Vale. "If the Vytal Festival gets cancelled, that will only worsen everybody's mood and that's the last thing we need right now."

"I know that and I did explain that to the Council, but they aren't risking the chance of the White Fang causing trouble while we lack the security to repel them" answered Ozpin.

"What of General Ironwood? Can he not spare some men to act as security?" asked Weiss, believing that the General can help.

Ozpin shakes his head. "I've already tried asking him, but James can't spare any men at the moment. The Atlesian forces are spread too thin with protecting their own Kingdom's borders from Grimm, as well as the occasional White Fang attack."

"So he's letting us out to dry?" deadpanned Blake.

"Not entirely. He has promised to bring along an army with him for when he arrives for the Vytal Festival. However, that won't be until the fighting tournament begins."

"That isn't going to convince the Council, is it?" asked Weiss, knowing the answer already.

"No" answered Ozpin. "However, what we can do is prove to them that there is no threat to the Vytal Festival."

"And how do we do that?" asked Ruby, tilting her head to the side.

"There has been word that the White Fang have been using Mountain Glenn as a possible hideout."

Blake widens her eyes as her ears twitch madly under her bow. "Mountain Glenn? The White Fang have never been brave enough to stay so close to any of the Kingdoms."

"Hopefully, that remains true. I can't guarantee if the rumour is true, which is why I want you to scout the mountain and see if the White Fang are really there or not."

Ruby nods with a bright smile on her face. "Yes sir! We'll be back before you even know it."

**xXx**

Three hours later, Ruby finds herself pinned down near the edge of the mountain as White Fang members continue their onslaught against her. Thankfully, she has managed to find cover behind a broken piece of rubble to protect her from the constant gunfire. Unfortunately, she has also been separated from her team. She can still see them fighting in the distance, but she can't regroup with them since every attempt has been met with gunfire and explosives from the terrorists who seem to be focusing on her more than anyone else on her team.

Ruby manages to duck in time to avoid a sniper round that pierces through the wall of rubble that makes up her defence. _"If I don't move soon, I'll be mince meat!" _she thought, trying to think of a plan. She has already tried to shoot at them with Crescent Rose, but there are far too many White Fang terrorists firing at her for her to get a good shot. After the third attempt, she gave up since her Aura won't be able to protect her from their bullets forever. She can't push back either, since she is literally fighting on the edge of Mountain Glenn. The last thing she wants is to go jumping off the mountain.

Trying to think of a plan, Ruby doesn't see one of the White Fang grunts step out with a rocket launcher on hand. Ruby only gets taken out of her thoughts when she hears her sister shout out her name.

"Ruby, watch out!"

Turning her head, Ruby can only widen her eyes when she sees a rocket flying at her only a few feet away before it collides with her wall of rubble and explodes. The explosion completely destroys Ruby's defence and launches the Huntress backwards. Being on the edge of Mountain Glenn, Ruby has no option but to fly straight off the mountain, much to the horror of her entire team.

"RUBY!"

**xXx**

The first thing Ruby notices when waking up is the unbearable pain she's feels all over her body. Never before has she felt her bones and muscles ache so much in all her life.

Slowly opening her eyes, Ruby stares up at the bright blue sky, realizing that her vision has gone blurry. Raising her right arm, Ruby can see a red outline cover her blurry appendance before dissipating. She guesses that outline is her Aura breaking, leaving her defenseless. Free-falling off a mountain will tend to put a very large amount of strain on someone's Aura. She at least knows the reason why her Aura isn't healing her injuries.

Ruby's rapidly beating heart skips a beat when she hears the sound of crunching grass nearby. _"Something's nearby!" _she thought, hoping that it isn't a Grimm who has found her injured and defenseless body, although the White Fang isn't any better. Turning to her left, she sees a blurry red object near her body. Knowing the outline of Crescent Rose anywhere, she weakly reaches towards it, hoping to defend herself from whatever or whoever is here with her. Stretching her aching arm, Ruby misses Crescent Rose by a couple of millimeters.

As she's about to try again, a boot kicks her weapon away. "Ah, ah, ah. We can't let you do that" spoke an arrogant voice.

"She's injured." Ruby can't help but notice that the other person sounds a lot like an android.

"Really? And here I thought Huntresses landed on their feet when falling off mountains."

"She needs medical treatment."

"And? Your point being?"

"We're taking her back to the ship for medical attention."

"What? Why~?"

Ruby tries to stay awake but the pain in starting to be too much for her. As everything fades to black, the last thing Ruby sees are two blurry figures arguing with each other.

**( One Week Later - Ozpin's Office )**

"And I told you to extend the search!" shouted Yang, punching her fist on top of Ozpin's desk.

"Ms. Xiao-Long!" admonished Glynda from beside the sitting Ozpin. "As Ozpin explained, we have had search parties look all over Mountain Glenn and the surrounding area. There has been no sightings of Ms. Rose anywhere."

"Did you find a body?" asked Weiss, staring at Glynda with a noticeable cold steel.

"Not that I'm aware of-"

"Then the search continues" spoke Weiss, uncaring that she just interrupted Glynda. "If there is no body, than it's obvious my partner is still alive."

"If so, where could Ms. Rose have gone?" asked Glynda, glaring at Weiss.

"There could have been a chance someone found her and got her to safety" answered Blake, coming to her teammate's defence.

"Or the White Fang may have found her and are holding her captive." Glynda's blunt response only seems to anger the rest of Team RWBY.

Ozpin closes his eyes to control his emotions. He knew the rumour of the White Fang being in Mount Glenn had to come from somewhere, but he didn't expect them to actually be there, or to be in such high numbers. It's only by luck did the rest of Team RWBY escape on a Bullhead, but that luck didn't extend to Ruby Rose who was blown off the mountain by a rocket. Wither she survived or not is a mystery to Ozpin since after the rest of Team RWBY arrived, he sent several more teams of Hunters to Mountain Glenn to expunge the White Fang and to search for Ruby Rose.

Yet, once the Hunters arrived at Mountain Glenn, there was no sign of the White Fang at all. They searched high and low for the terrorists, but couldn't find anything. The same can be said about Ruby Rose as the search parties could only find the crater in which was made from Ruby's landing. The small pool of blood didn't help ease everyone's worries, but they could at least test it to prove that the blood is from Ruby Rose.

_"Ms. Rose, where are you?"_

**xXx**

Returning back to consciousness, Ruby slowly opens her eyes, only for them to close so she can block out the annoying light that's hanging over her bed. _"Stupid infirmaries for hanging their lights over their patients beds" _cursed Ruby, being familiar with the infirmary setting. She may be one of the best Hunters out there, but even she makes a mistake or two in battle which requires her to visit the infirmary for treatment.

Opening her eyes and making sure she doesn't look at the light, Ruby notices that the infirmary she's in doesn't look like the one she's use to in Beacon. There are a lot more beds than she remembers and she doesn't recognize the few men and women who are occupying them. Ruby widens her eyes when she remembers the reason she got injured. _"I got hit by a rocket and flew off Mountain Glenn. Some guys found me afterwards, but..." _

"Ah good, you're awake."

Startled by the unfamiliar voice, Ruby turns to her left to see a purple-haired woman in a white lab coat and a clipboard in her hand. "Good afternoon, Ms. Rose. I am Dr. Emily Grey, but you can just call me Emily" greeted the doctor with a cheerful smile on her face.

**( Dr. Emily Grey - Red Vs Blue )**

"H-Hi" replied Ruby with a short wave before wincing in pain.

"Don't worry kiddo, all that no good pain will subside in around... two to three days" laughed Emily, seemingly uncaring to her patient's pain.

"Two to three days!?" replied Ruby in shock.

"Yep!" giggled Emily. "What? You thought your Aura can reset all those broken bones of yours and stitch back all of your torn muscles? I don't think so~"

Ruby looks over her doctor, realizing that she might be under the care of someone who isn't too right in the head. _"She's way too joyful!" _she inwardly cried, wishing to have a different doctor. Looking around the infirmary, Ruby decides to get some answers. "Umm, if you don't mind me asking, how do you know my name?"

Emily points towards a small red and black purse resting by the desktop on Ruby's bedside. "We looked at your Hunter's ID so we could find out your blood type. With how you were bleeding like a faucet, it would be bad luck if we filled you back up with the wrong blood" she giggled.

_"She doesn't sound like she's treating me like a patient at all!" _thought Ruby, feeling a chill run down her spine. "Where are we?" she asked, hoping to change the subject.

"In the infirmary silly" giggled Emily before figuring out what her patient actually means. "Oh! You mean where are you in general?" To her patient's nod, Emily decides to answer. "You are currently inside the medical bay of the Mother of Invention."

"Mother of Invention?" repeated Ruby, scrunching her nose in thought over the strange name. "What's the Mother of Invention?"

"Why, it's the head airship for the Freelancers and is run by none other than the General himself!" answered Emily, sounding very excited when mentioning the General.

**( Mother of Invention - Red Vs Blue )**

"The Freelancers? Aren't they a mercenary group?" asked Ruby, having heard a small bit about the group. From what she does know, they're a mercenary group that hangs around in the Grimmlands, preferably near frontier towns.

"We prefer the term, private military" remarked Emily, placing her clipboard on the small desk beside Ruby's bed.

"Sorry" apologized the bedridden Huntress, hoping to not insult the people who are taking care of her.

"Don't you worry, sweety. No harm done" said Emily in her cheerful manner. That cheerful manner fades as a serious expression appears on her face. "However, I must warn you that while the pain will fade in two or three days, you will have to remain resting for the next two weeks."

"Why~" moaned Ruby, puffing her cheeks out in annoyance. She may be twenty-five, but she still acts like a child at most times. "Won't my Aura heal up my wounds?"

"Nope! As I said, your Aura can't do all the work for you. With so many broken bones, you should be thankful that it's only two weeks and not two months. Speaking of, no more walking for you for at least a week" spoke Emily, pointing a warning finger at the bedridden Huntress.

"Fine~" pouted Ruby.

"Good girl!" exclaimed Emily, clapping her hands. "Now then, I think it's about time I introduce you to the Commander."

Emily walks away while Ruby wonders who the Commander is. "Commander?"

"In here, Commander. Just like you asked, I put her all~ back together. Most of her at least."

_"I'm not a jigsaw puzzle!" _thought Ruby, finding the way the doctor speaks very creepy. When the doctor returns, she sees another person who she guesses to be the Commander.

Admittedly, she finds the Commander pretty handsome with his sharp features, well trimmed moustache and beard and she likes his all dark attire most of all, although she admits he can use some red to mix in with the black. She can't see his eyes, since he's wearing a pair of strange sunglasses. Why he's wearing sunglasses indoors, she doesn't know, but finds herself too afraid to ask him why. His most noticable features are his black prosthetic arms and Ruby can't help but wonder how he lost his regular arms in the first place.

"I am Adam Jensen, Commander of the Freelancers" informed the Commander, looking stone faced.

**( Adam Jensen - Deus Ex Mankind Divided )**

Ruby can't help but feel nervous when under the Commander's scrutinizing stare. "R-Ruby Rose, Huntress of Vale and lover of cookies."

Adam's lips twitch upwards for a brief second while Dr. Emily Grey giggles. Realizing what she just said, Ruby fumbles for a moment before sighing in defeat.

"Well, Ruby Rose, Huntress of Vale and lover of cookies..." Ruby lifts her blanket to cover her blushing cheeks. "I welcome you to the Mother of Invention. I hope you realize how lucky you are that you got here in time."

"You were almost dead!" exclaimed Emily in her cheerful manner.

"Quite" nodded Adam, seemingly use to Emily's strange behaviour. "If not for Felix and Locus finding you, you'd have bled out or be Grimm chow by now."

"Or both!"

"Thank you, Dr. Grey" sighed Adam. "Anyway, I just wanted to come by and welcome you to the ship, seeing as you'll be staying here for the next two weeks."

"Staying here? But I have friends at home who are out there looking for me! I can't stay here." Ruby attempts to get out of bed, but a sudden increase of pain stops her efforts.

Dr. Grey shakes her head. "Yea~, that's not happening. You have fallen off a literal mountain and suffered serious injuries. You are not allowed to leave this bed for any reason."

Ruby moans in both pain and annoyance. "Can you at least send word to my team, or even Beacon's Headmaster about me being alive. Maybe they can pick me up?"

"We would, but seeing as we are miles away from any nearby CCT, we can't" answered Adam.

Ruby drops her head on her pillow, realizing that she really is stuck on the airship that belongs to a private military. "I'm guessing I can't even take a Bullhead to Beacon?"

Emily finds her question funny for some reason. "Honey, you're body is as brittle as cracked glass right now. Too much movement or gods forgive, a Grimm attack can shatter your entire body like a Beowolf in a window shop."

Ruby groans even louder and it appears to entertain Adam who smirks. "Can I at least ask where we are?"

"North of Mistral."

Ruby blinks, having a hard time believing that she has travelled all the way from Mountain Glenn to north of Mistral. Instead of overreacting, she sighs in acceptance. "Fine."

"Good girl" praised Emily, patting Ruby on the head, much to the Huntress's embarrassment.

"Now that the introductions are out of the way, I have a lot of work to do. Dr. Grey, I leave her in your care" said Adam before turning towards the door.

Emily playfully salutes the Commander as he leave the medical bay. "Yes sir! You can count on me!"

Crocodile tears drip down Ruby's face when she realizes she's going to be stuck in unknown territory with a crazed doctor for the next two weeks.

_"Yang, Blake, Weiss, save me!" _

**xXx**

Once he leave the medical bay, Adam makes his way towards the General's office, nodding to the men and women who salute him as he walks by. Once arriving by the General's door, Adam knocks and awaits for permission to enter.

"Come in."

The doors slide open, revealing the General's office behind them. Adam steps inside, ignoring the doors closing behind him and walks up to the front of the General's desk. The man himself isn't sitting in his chair, preferring to stand in front of the window behind it so he can gaze out at the Mistral forestry while the Mother of Invention flies past. What could be going through the General's mind, Adam will never fully know and even if he did, he probably wouldn't be able to fully comprehend it either.

"What can I do for you, Commander?"

Adam nods, knowing that even though the General's back is facing him, the man can still see him through the reflection off the window. "Sir, I thought I would inform you that the Huntress has awakened."

The General hums. "Good. I take it she'll make a fully recovery?" he asked, slightly turning his head to his left.

"With Dr. Grey treating her, it's pretty much a guarentee."

The General chuckles. "Dr. Grey is treating her? Well then, let's give our prayers for the unlucky Huntress."

Dr. Grey is the Freelancer's very best doctor, but her way of treatment is very different when compared to modern medical science. In her own words, she 'takes her patients apart and puts them back together again'. None of her patients have died as of yet, so whatever she's doing, it's working. How she does it, nobody knows, but it has given her a lot of respect among the medical staff in the Mother of Invention. However, her eccentric medical practice is also the very reason why her medical degree was taken off her by Atlas, but where it's their lost, it's the Freelancers gain.

"And the Huntress who is in our care. What was her name?" asked the General, curious over who could have fallen off Mountain Glenn and survived, even with broken bones and bruises all over their body.

"Ruby Rose, sir."

"Ruby Rose? That's quite a famous person to have on the ship."

Adam nods in agreement. It's no secret that Ruby Rose is one of the best Hunters in her generation and she has quite a reputation going for her. She's known to be always smiling, even when dealing with the threats of Grimm, in order to inspire hope into the hearts of the people. People believe her to be an inspiration to Hunters everywhere.

Adam finds it naive, but that's his own opinion.

"Any word on our targets?" asked the General, changing the subject.

"Bloodhound is following their tracks as we speak. He'll keep us informed once they make camp" answered Adam. "As long as _she _isn't there, we shouldn't have any trouble when going on the offensive."

The General nods. "Good. Make sure to send me an update once Bloodhound calls in. Once he does, have Alpha squad and Beta squad prepped and ready."

"Yes sir" nodded Adam before leaving the office to inform the two teams about their upcoming mission. It'll probably take Bloodhound a couple of days to send the message, but that doesn't mean he can't have Alpha and Beta squad ready at all times.

Once Adam leaves, the General turns around and takes a seat behind his desk. Alone in his office, the man begins to chuckle.

"Ruby, huh. Doesn't that bring back some memories."

**( Mother of Invention - Medical Bay ) **

Five days have passed since her admittance into the Freelancer's care and Ruby is fully prepared to jump ship right now, uncaring if she's injured or not. _"I'm bored~. There's nothing to do here" _she internally moaned, having nothing to do but lay down and rest. Either that or listen to the lunacy that pours you of her doctor's mouth.

However, she can admit that her injuries have definitely gotten better in the past five days and not just because of her Aura. True to Dr. Grey's word, the pain disappeared two days ago, but the occasional flash of pain because of quick movement reminds her that her body hasn't fully healed yet. Where a lot of her bones were broken, they are now mostly healed, but still in need of mending. Thankfully, her Aura can do most of that work so she isn't required to be hooked up to all the noisy machines anymore.

Still, there is a lack of entertainment in the medical bay of the airship and it's driving the Huntress mad. She has read all of their available magazines and even reread them again, just to keep her somewhat entertained for another day. She isn't even allowed to look over Crescent Rose! Not because it could hamper her recovery, even though it will, but because her having a weapon in a room with sick and injured Freelancers isn't the best safety reason.

"There's my favourite little patient" said Dr. Grey, walking up to Ruby's bed while pushing a wheelchair.

"What's that for?" asked Ruby, referring to the wheelchair.

"It's for you, silly. Since you're not allowed to walk for another three days, I thought I could at least get you out of this boring old room and take in the sights" answered Emily, smiling at the Huntress.

Ruby's mood brightens up at the thought of moving around. She has also been curious about the rest of the ship, as well as its occupants so a trip around could really help.

"And since you're not actually a Freelancer, you'll be required to have an escort with you at all times" said Emily, waving a hand towards the doorway. "And wouldn't you know it, I've found you _two _escorts. Aren't you lucky!"

"Thanks, doc. We'll take it from here."

"Do we seriously have to do this?"

"It's our orders."

"Who the hell ordered us to be the crippled Huntress's guide anyway?"

"The General."

"...oh."

Ruby blinks, remembering the same two voices belonging to the two guys who found her at the bottom of Mountain Glenn. "It was you, wasn't it? Who found me by Mount Glenn."

The dark-skinned and muscular man with an X scar across his face nods, even more stone faced than the Commander. "Affirmative."

**( Locus - Red Vs Blue )**

The other man lacks the other's rippling muscles, but makes up for it with toned ones. Where the other is stone faced, he is currently looking quite annoyed over the situation. "Can we just get this over with so I can get a nap in?"

**( Felix - Red Vs Blue ) **

"Felix, play nice" chastised Emily, playfully before turning to the confused and slightly insulted Huntress. "The grumpy one is Felix and the robot is Locus. No, those are not their real names and no, Locus isn't really a robot. I checked. But don't let their personalities fool you, they are some of the best soldiers that the Freelancers have to offer. Which, now that I think about it, isn't exactly a good thing."

Deciding that she has had enough crazy in the past few days, Ruby gets on the wheelchair, thanking Dr. Grey for the help before Locus pushes Ruby out of the medical bay.

With a smile on her face, Ruby hums a tune as Felix and Locus guide her down one of the many hallways in the airship. "So~, where are we going?"

"We'll start off at the hanger and move inwards from there" answered Locus.

After a moment of silence between the three, Ruby decides to speak up. "I wanna say... thank you. For saving me back at Mountain Glenn."

"Yes, I am great, please hold your applause" answered Felix, showing a smirk full of prideful smugness as he brushes a hand through his hair.

Ruby deadpans at the arrogant Freelancer. "I was talking to Locus. From what I remember, you didn't seem too inclined to help me."

For once, Locus shows a little emotion by lightly smirking once his partner stumbles over the Huntress's truthful words. "It's no problem."

Ruby opens her mouth to speak, but the trio walks through a set a sliding metal doors that leads them into the hanger bay. What Ruby sees has her leaving her mouth agape as she takes in her surroundings. "Wow~."

Ruby has been in a few airships before, including Atlesian military airships, but going by the size of the hanger bay, they all pale in comparison. As far as she can see, there are Bullheads of different shapes and sizes with a few being worked on by mechanics. Some look to be more heavily armoured while others look to have more firepower. However, she can see that there is a symbol painted in white on the sides of each of the Bullheads. She guesses that the symbol is the logo for the Freelancer military.

**( Freelancer Logo - Red Vs Blue )**

Before Ruby can ask about the symbol, her eyes catch sight of something incredible and very beautiful. It looks like a bulky blue suit of armour that is somehow holding up a crate that is nearly four times the size of itself. "What. is. that!" she asked, pointing towards the large suit of armour.

Lazily, Felix glances at the suit of armour and scoffs. "It's just a Gen 2 Mjolnir Powered Assault Armour. It's nothing special. My suit is way better."

Ruby turns her head towards Felix so fast that Locus is almost afraid she got whiplash. "You have one as well?"

Felix shrugs his shoulders. "Every Freelancer has a suit of armour. It comes with the job" he answered, following after Ruby and Locus once the pair starts moving throughout the hanger.

**( Mjolnir Powered Assault Armour - Halo Series ) **

"A Mjolnir is one of those suits of armour, right?" asked Ruby, finding herself very interested on the subject. If it can kill Grimm in style, Ruby can't help but be very interested.

"Yep."

"They're so advanced" gushed Ruby as she looks around the hanger, noticing more people wearing suits of advanced armour the deeper they go in the hanger. What she finds even more amazing is how each one looks to be designed and painted more differently than the last. Some are more bulky while others are slimmer in design. "What are those! What are those!" she squealed, pointing at more suits of Mjolnir Power Armour.

Felix raises a brow at the Huntress. "How old are you again?"

Ruby ignores the Freelancer and looks around the hanger in awe, but notices a pair of Freelancers lift up a metal beam from both sides before taking flight into the air, much to Ruby's increasing awe. "They can fly!" She knows that Atlas has been trying to improve the armour for their soldiers, but they can't even hope to match the Freelancer's suits of armour. Maybe they can give some to General Ironwood once she's fit enough to return to Beacon. With Atlas's help, they could mass produce Mjolnirs in no time!

Felix winces and digs a pinkie into his ear. "Yes, they can fly. Can you hold back on the screeching please?"

"Can all of them fly? Even the bulky ones? How much can a Mjolnir lift? What weapons do you use for each suit? Can you attach weapons to them?"

Felix and Locus look at each other, wondering which one of them should tell her to stop or in Felix's case, shut the fuck up. Luckily, someone comes over to relieve them of their enquiry.

"I hope you haven't been torturing my men with all your questions, Ms. Rose" said a stone face Adam, walking over to the two Freelancers and Huntress.

"Kill... me..." moaned Felix in an over dramatic fashion, showcasing how he feels.

Adam's stone expression fades as he smirks at the pair. "I'll take it from here boys" ordered Adam, taking the reigns of Ruby's wheelchair.

Locus nods and salutes to his higher officer. "Yes, Commander."

Felix is already walking away and waving a hand over his shoulder. "Later. I'm going to take a nap."

"They're... nice?" said Ruby once the two Freelancers are out of listening distance.

Adam lightly chuckles over Ruby's awkward statement of the pair. "Would you believe me if I told you they aren't the most eccentric duo we have?"

"I wouldn't call Locus eccentric. Felix is arrogant and mean, but isn't Locus just doing his job?" asked Ruby, looking at Adam from over her shoulder.

"The Freelancers may be a private military, but we aren't strict like Atlas. We allow the men and women to have emotions. Locus... is a special case" answered Adam, looking uncomfortable for a moment.

Ruby frowns, but nods in understanding. She has been a Huntress long enough to know that many frightening things happen out in the world and a lot of it is not just done by Grimm, but also by bad people. "I take it that it's a long story?"

Adam stops pushing the wheelchair and sighs while looking around the hanger bay or rather, at the people in it. "We all have a story, Ms. Rose. Some are better told than others. In the end, it's our troubles that brings us all together. For we are the outcasts of Remnant, in some shape or form."

Ruby looks up at the Freelancer Commander and realizes that the Freelancers might not be like any of the other private militaries in Remnant.

"Did you know that the General saved my life eight years ago" Adam suddenly said, pushing Ruby's wheelchair again. "I use to live in a frontier town, a small place in Mistral. Of course, it didn't last long after the Grimm attacked. Killed everyone, including my parents. I survived, but as I'm sure you've already noticed, I wasn't left unscathed."

Ruby rubs her hands together, refusing to look back at Adam's prosthetic arms, fearing it to be rude right now.

"General found me outside my burning town, bleeding out with two missing arms. Most would have pegged me as a lost cause. Not the General. Not only did he save my life, he gave me a chance to relive it."

Ruby can almost hear Adam smile from how he speaks. "He sounds like a good man" she offered. Ruby can't deny that. The General sounds like an amazing person and she can't wait to meet him.

"A great man. A man who I will follow to hell and back. Just like the rest of the men and women among the Freelancers."

This time, Ruby does turn around to look up at Adam's covered eyes. "What do you mean?"

"The General didn't just save my life, but also saved those you see before you" spoke Adam, waving a mechanical arm around to showcase everyone in the hanger, or rather, the entire airship. "He has done good for every Freelancer here, which is why we will follow him into any battlefield."

Deciding to give the Huntress an example, he points at a white armoured Freelancer sitting on a crate, sharpening his weapon which looks like a mix between a short sword and a grenade launcher. "See Maine? While you can't tell because of his helmet, he's actually a Faunus that use to work in a Schnee Dust Mine two years ago. That Dust Mine was run by a nasty bastard who didn't exactly treat his Faunus workers as good as he should have." Ruby isn't liking where the story is going. "Being a Lion Faunus, the bastard thought he could _help _Maine by cutting off his ears and slicing his throat. Obviously, it didn't kill him, but he can no longer speak. Can you imagine the pain he endured?"

**( Maine - Red Vs Blue )**

Ruby can't, for she isn't a Faunus. Being friends with Blake, she does understand that a Faunus's animal traits are a lot more sensitive than their human parts. Having his lion ears cut off must have brought a great deal of pain to Maine. A great deal of pain Ruby can't even imagine to feeling. Yes, she broke a majority of her bones after falling off a mountain, but they will heal. Maine's ears and throat won't.

"Knowing what the bastard was doing, the General sent a few Freelancers to save the miners from that kind of treatment. Most of those miners are now members of the Freelancers."

"And the employer?"

"Maine got to him before we did. Can't say I pitied him, but Maine made sure his death wasn't quick or clean."

Ruby winces, hoping not to make Maine mad in the future. From the strain in Adam's voice, she can tell the employer's death hasn't been a easy one. "That bad?"

"Nobody could identify the body after he was done with him. The only reason we knew it was him was because of his ID card."

Ruby can feel somewhat safer once Adam pushes her wheelchair farther away from the white armoured Freelancer.

"We are all brothers and sisters to one another, Ms. Rose. We don't care about your history, your gender or your race. We are all equal." Adam chuckles lightly. "And in a way, the General is our Father."

_"Sounds like something Blake would like" _thought Ruby, finding her excitement over all the advanced technology around her diminish. She thought she had a good grasp on how the world worked, but obviously, she's still only learning.

"Do you like them?"

Ruby's shaken out of her thoughts when she hears Adam speak up. "Huh?" Is Ruby's intelligible response.

"Do you like the Mjolnirs? I overheard Felix telling you about them."

"Shouldn't he have?" asked Ruby, feeling a small bit worried.

"You can tell the Mjolnirs aren't exactly common suits of armour, can't you?" continued Adam, pushing Ruby's wheelchair around a Bullhead.

"They're very advanced."

Adam chuckles. "That's putting it lightly. Those Mjolnirs were actually designed by the General himself. He's quite proud of them."

"And he should be. I've never seen armour like them, even in Atlas."

"The General is a brilliant man, not just on the battlefield, but in his lab as well. Seeing him work... it's truly something to behold."

Ruby smiles, finding herself very impressed with how much respect Adam has for the General. "I bet it is. I'd really like to meet him."

"That's good because you're meeting him for dinner this afternoon."

"WHAT!?"

**xXx**

_"Don't worry, don't worry. You've had dinner with a General before. Just not with a General who you have never seen before and has never interacted with."_ These are the thoughts of Ruby Rose as Dr. Emily Grey wheels her in front of the door that leads to the General's office.

"Having dinner with the General. How you've moved up in the world" giggled Emily, loving how her patient blushes from the teasing.

"D-Don't say it like that. Besides, he's probably twice my age" stuttered Ruby, blushing in embarrassment.

"Nope! Actually, he's only two years older than you."

"He's only twenty seven!?" Ruby shouted in a whisper once they arrive in front of the General's office door.

"Yep. Have fun~" Dr. Grey leaves Ruby to her faith after waving her goodbye.

_"You're evil" _Ruby internally cried as she glares daggers into Emily's back. She doesn't get much time to do it once the door slides open.

"Come on in, Ms. Rose."

Gulping, Ruby rolls her wheelchair through the doorway and nearly jumps when the doors close behind her. Looking around the office, Ruby notices that unlike General Ironwood's bland office, the Freelancer General's is full of colour, mostly a deep blue with a mixture of white. What catches Ruby's attention is the pieces of odd gadgets that are either resting in glass cases or hanging on shelves all over the room. Ruby's eyes turn towards to what looks to be a sniper rifle that looks to be glowing internally with Fire Dust.

"It's called the Z-750 Special Application Sniper Rifle, but we prefer to call it a Binary Rifle. It can only hold two rounds, but will disintegrate anything it touches."

**( Z-750 Special Application Sniper Rifle - Halo )**

Ruby turns away from the weapon to look towards the desk on the other side of the room. Standing behind the office chair is who Ruby suspects to be the General himself. Looking the man over, Ruby swallows some saliva that has been pooling up in her throat.

The General looks to be over six feet tall and has the build to make himself look even bigger than he actually is. In comparison, his body type matches with Locus's, if not slightly more toned. For attire, he adorns a plain black muscle shirt that highlights the muscles underneath, a pair of black pants with militaristic boots and a brown heavy padded leather coat with fur lining and the Freelancer insignia on the right shoulder.

Just like Adam, the General is pretty handsome with his short trimmed heard, short blonde hair and hardened features. What Ruby also notices is the large scar going across the General's right eye. Being an experienced Huntress, she knows a Grimm injury when she sees one and can tell that the General's scar was made from a Grimm's claw, likely a Beowolf. _"That scar is far too deep to have missed his eye. So how does he...?" _

Ruby's thoughts come to a halt when she gets a closer look at the General's blue eyes or rather, the right one which looks to be glowing slightly brighter than the other. Another closer look has the Huntress see small pieces of tech in the pupil. _"An artificial eye!" _

Ruby knows that technology has advanced so far that anyone can have any of their body parts replaced with a mechanical one, just like General Ironwood's own mechanical prosthetics. Her deceased trainer, Maria had prosthetics to replace her destroyed eyes, but they were bulky and tended to malfunction if not given their weekly maintenance. However, Ruby has never seen a mechanical eye as realistic as the General's own one.

Now that she looks over the General in his entirety, Ruby can't help but feels like she recognizes him from somewhere.

"It's quite an honour to meet a Huntress of your caliber, Ms. Rose" greeted the General, feeling quite amused over the woman's fascination of the weapon. _"You haven't changed." _

Ruby rolls her wheelchair towards the General who steps out from behind his desk. "It's an honour to meet you as well, General. You have quite an impressive system going on here."

The General smirks and offers his left hand towards the Huntress who takes it without a second glance. The moment she feels cold metal greet her fingers, Ruby involuntarily pulls her hand back and gasps. Looking at the hand she just touched, Ruby is surprised to see a mechanical one, just like Adam's own arm prosthetics, but the General's is pure white in colour with hints of blue.

"Apologies, I should've warned you of that" apologized the General, pulling his arm away from the startled Huntress.

Realizing what she has just done, Ruby blushes a full red in embarrassment. _"Great first impression, Ruby!" _She's at least thankful that Weiss isn't here, since the Schnee would have scolded her for hours about disrespecting a General like she just did. "No, I should apologize. I shouldn't have reacted like that."

The General chuckles and waves his mechanical arm towards the front of his desk. "Shall we talk before dinner arrives?"

Nodding in agreement, Ruby rolls her wheelchair in front of the General's desk which is thankfully low enough where she doesn't have to strain herself to look over it. "I'd like to thank you for helping me in my time of need, General. If not for you, I would've likely died out there."

Taking a seat on his chair, the General slowly shakes his head. "No need to thank me. It was Locus and Felix who found you and brought you back, although I have a hunch that it was more Locus's decision than Felix."

"That hunch would be correct" deadpanned Ruby, getting the General to chuckle. "May I ask, what were Felix and Locus doing there anyway?"

The General hides his smirk, knowing what the Huntress is doing. _"She's fishing for information." _He also has a good idea on who she's fishing the information for.

Seeing no reason why he couldn't give her a few answers, he decides to placate her curiosity. "Both Felix and Locus were scouting out Mountain Glenn, seeing as there are rumors of White Fang activity in the area."

"What do the Freelancers want with the White Fang?" asked Ruby, finding herself suspicious.

"We want they're complete and utter annihilation of course."

Ruby's eyes widens, not only because of the General's answer, but because of how calmly he answers it. "What?!"

The General raises his arms to calm the Huntress down. "Don't mistaken my words. I am in no way racist, seeing as over sixty percent of my Freelancers are Faunus, but the White Fang are a problem that need to be dealt with, swiftly and without mercy."

"But that doesn't have anything to do with the Freelancers. The White Fang should be dealt with by the Hunters" exclaimed Ruby, only for the General to lightly scoff.

"Apologies, Ms. Rose, but the White Fang are a bit too much for Hunters to deal with at the moment. I'm not misinformed of the going ons of the Kingdoms and with the constant terrorist, Grimm and bandit attacks, the Hunters are spread too thin as it is" explained the General.

As much as Ruby want to deny that, she knows she can't. With everything going on lately, Hunters have been breaking their backs going on mission after mission and some of them don't even come back. "Still, that gives you no right to chase after the White Fang, especially without orders from any of the Councils."

The General smiles in a good-natured way. "Ah, but there are no rules here in the Grimmlands, Ms. Rose. As long as we stay out of Kingdom territory, the Freelancers can do whatever they want. Not as hard as you might think, seeing as Grimm own 95% of the planet. Even Vale has lost all right to Mountain Glenn after its loss."

Ruby bites her lips, knowing that she can't give a good enough rebuttal. While the Council might peg themselves as powerful, their power only ranges to one of the four Kingdoms which only make up around five percent of the entire planet and every year, that percentage is slowly starting to decrease. The other ninety five percent is under the control of Grimm, meaning that the Council has absolutely no power in them.

While a lot of people probably wouldn't mind letting the Freelancers take care of the White Fang for them, Ruby can't allow that. Not only because of the body count that would rise from such a war, but Blake would be disheartened to find out what the Freelancers plan to do. And with their numbers and advanced technology, Ruby can't help but believe they can actually do it.

"Still, it isn't right."

The General leans forward and interlocks his fingers. "It might not be right, but neither is terrorism. We Freelancers protect forty four different frontier towns in the Grimmlands and many attacks from the White Fang have been attempted on them. If they continue their attacks, more innocent lives will be lost and as General, I can't allow that."

Ruby widens her eyes at the General. "You protect forty four frontier towns?" repeated Ruby in disbelief. Are the Freelancers numbers really that high that they can protect that many frontier towns at the same time? "Why?"

The General quirks a brow. "Why? Why not? With the decrease of Hunters patrolling through frontier towns, all those people were left defenseless. If not for my Freelancers protecting them from bandits, Grimm and terrorists, then who would?"

Ruby winces, feeling ashamed over knowing about how Hunters have been being called away from frontier towns by the Council. With the increase of Grimm surrounding Vale's walls, they've been tasked with fighting them back, leaving the frontier towns with no defence from Remnant's many threats. Obviously, many frontier towns have fallen, but she didn't actually think there were others protecting the towns.

Knowing that the Freelancers are protecting and saving so many people makes Ruby feel so... small.

"Still..." muttered Ruby, trying and failing to think of a way to change the General's mind. She's taken out of her thoughts when the General starts chuckling in obvious amusement. "What?"

"You haven't changed, Ruby. Always ready to be the hero. I've honestly missed that" sighed the General with a smile.

Ruby raises both brows up high. "Have we... met before?"

Where some people might be offended, the General smiles and sighs almost whimsically. "I guess you wouldn't remember me. I only attended Beacon for more or less a month."

_"He attended Beacon?" _wondered Ruby, trying to remember the General by face alone. Just as she's about to give up, a glint of light catches Ruby in the eyes, causing her to raise her hand up to block out the light. Looking at the source of the light, she sees that the sunlight from the window is hitting off a blade that's hanging on the wall on the left side of the room. Being a weapon expert and fanatic, Ruby has learned to never forget a weapon when she sees one.

Looking over the sword, Ruby's eyes slowly widens in realization when she recognizes the blade. "Crocea Mors? But then that would mean..." she exclaimed, turning to look at the smiling General.

"It has been while, Ruby."

"Jaune!?"


	2. Avenge the Fallen

**Enjoy.**

**xXx**

**( Mother of Invention - Training Room )**

Three days have passed since the reveal of Jaune Arc being the General of the Freelancer private military and Ruby is still having trouble actually believing it. Ever since that awkward dinner in his office, Ruby hasn't seen any sign of Jaune and not without a lack of trying on her part. Unfortunately, she has been trapped in the infirmary until today where she has been given permission to finally walk on her own two legs. While her body is still sore in some places, Dr. Grey explained to her that walking around will help strengthen her legs again.

What Ruby can't understand is how Jaune of all people has become an actual General of a military. She knows that it takes a lot of brains and strength to gain such a title with Ironwood being a perfect example of what a General should be. While Ruby doesn't like to talk bad about anyone, Jaune wasn't exactly the most competent Hunter-in-training so for him to be an actual General is actually mind boggling.

When Jaune was expelled and his transcripts were revealed to be fake all those years ago, he's lack of skill suddenly made a lot of sense to Ruby.

Unlike Weiss and Yang who didn't want anything to do with Jaune after his expulsion, Ruby would've liked to have kept in touch with Jaune. It doesn't matter to her if he tried to cheat into Beacon, he's still the very first friend she made in Beacon. Sadly, Jaune disappeared off the face of Remnant and other than his Scroll which never answered, she didn't have any way to contact him. For a while, she believed him to be dead.

Instead, she finds out he's running a private military that's in the possession of advanced technology and weaponry she has never seen before. She has so many questions to ask him, but seeing as she's not allowed anywhere without an escort, especially to meet with Jaune who's apparently very busy, she instead finds herself in the spectator room for the airship's training room.

Other than a firing range and a gym, Ruby has never seen an actual training room inside a military airship. Yet, the Freelancers have their very own training room, fitted with advanced tech that Ruby wishes Beacon would have for their own training rooms.

From the spectator room above the arena, Ruby watches as stone pillars rise up from the floor of the large arena, standing nearly nine feet tall. On each side of the arena are two separate teams of four Freelancers, each one suited up in their personal Mjolnir armour and loading up their respective pistols.

"They're not going to... hurt each other, are they?" Ruby asked the Freelancer beside her. Yet again, she's under the watch of another Freelancer, but thankfully, he's a lot nicer than Felix and a lot more emotional than Locus.

Although his twin sister is a bit of a bitch.

North chuckles as he crosses his arms across his chest, wearing his own Mjolnir armour, except for the helmet which he has left on a nearby bench, revealing his short blonde hair and warm smile. "Nah, they don't use live rounds during training, just paint."

**( North Dakota - Red Vs Blue )**

"Paint?" repeated Ruby.

"Yep. Locks up the armour when hit and is a pain in the ass to clean out afterwards" nodded North, watching as the eight Freelancers get ready to begin their training exercise in a four vs four match-up. While watching the training session begin, he can't help but remember what happened to Maine and Wyoming after they snuck live rounds and grenades into a training session while battling with _her _and causing an accident which cost York an eye.

North feels a chill crawl down his spine upon remembering what the General did to those two once he found out what happened. A lot of work had to be put into place to fix the dents in both the Freelancers armour and even then, they were left in the infirmary for over a month to heal their injuries after their beat down.

Ironically, they were both set up beside York in the Medical Bay.

"Also stings like a bitch when you get hit by it" pointed out a fully armoured Felix, walking past his fellow Freelancer and the Huntress. Ruby won't admit it to the already arrogant Freelancer, but she does find Felix's armour to be pretty cool.

"That too" chuckled North. "Look, they're about to start."

Ruby turns back to watch the arena and as North said, the two teams are shooting each other with paint while using the pillars as cover. Ruby watches in fascination as one of the Freelancers gets hit in the arm, causing a big blob of pink paint to latch onto the armour, as well as stick the unfortunate Freelancer to the nearby pillar. Ruby pegs him as a loss, if not for him throwing his pistol up in the air and catching it with his free arm before gunning down the Freelancer who shot him. Once he runs out of ammo, another enemy Freelancer unloads his entire clip into the trapped Freelancer, covering him completely in pink paint.

"Whoa" muttered Ruby, looking quite impressed with the smart play. He didn't think twice before enacting a plan that not only surprised his opponent, but actually took them down. He still got taken down, but at least he evens the playing field for his teammates.

After another ten minutes of watching, one team is left victorious with one person left standing, although she does have some paint stuck to her right leg.

"Enjoying the show?" asked North, turning towards the Huntress.

"They were good, especially that guy in the green armour" answered Ruby, referring to the Freelancer who did the trick to switch hands with his weapon.

"I'm sure Georgia will be delighted to hear all about that" chuckled North.

Ruby watches as the pillars sink back down to the floor and the paralyzed Freelancers are taken out of the training room. "What's next?" she asked, wondering what other training the Freelancers do when they're not on missions.

North looks to his right and reads the holographic screen that's beside him. "Next up is Pugil stick training. Illinois Vs... shit."

"What is it?" asked Ruby, turning a pair of worried silver eyes towards the Freelancer.

North turns away form the holographic screen and smiles, although it's obviously forced. "Oh, nothing. Just wondering what Illinois did to piss off South" he said, sending his prayers for the poor schmuck.

Ruby feels a chill as she remembers North's twin sister, South. Where North is warm and friendly to everyone, South seems to have a grudge against anyone who so much as looks at her. _"I hope she and Yang never meet" _she thought, hating the idea of Yang meeting South. Having one hot-tempered sister is one thing, but another? Ruby doesn't want to take her chances.

Ruby looks down at the arena to see two Freelancers walk towards the centre with a pugil stick in their hands. It isn't difficult for Ruby to figure out which one is South, since she's the only one in the arena with purple Mjolnir armour that's designed almost exactly like her brother's. The only differences are that she has coloured her armour in a different shade of purple than her brother's and it's slightly less bulky, showing just enough curves for everyone to know she's a female.

**( South Dakota - Red Vs Blue )**

South's opponent is wearing a set of blue Mjolnir armour with no noteworthy traits except for the wide visor on his helmet. Unlike Maine who's visor covers most of his helmet, Illinois's just covers most of his face. Ruby also notes that unlike South who's walking with a confident swagger, Illinois looks nervous from how slow his steps are.

**( Illinois - Red Vs Blue )**

"Who's Illinois?" asked Ruby, knowing nothing about that Freelancer.

"Explosive Expert. Alright with a rifle, but he prefers anything that goes boom. Also one hell of a drinker, but sometimes it gets him in trouble." North sighs as he waves a hand towards the scene infront of them. "Case in point."

_**"Beginning Pugil stick training. Illinois Vs South. Round One begins in five, four, three, two, one. Round begin" **_spoke an automatic female voice, bringing Ruby attention back to the arena.

Ruby watches as the pair of Freelancers charge at one another and attack each other with their pugil sticks. Unlike what she expected, Illinois doesn't get destroyed and actually manages to go blow-for-blow with South. For the next five minutes, the pair attack, dodge or parry each other with neither actually managing to land a blow.

That is until South performs a low spin kick that throws Illinois off his feet, but before he can land, South performs a second spin and swings her pugil stick into Illinois's side, launching the unfortunate Freelancer away.

Ruby jumps when she sees the pugil stick give off an electric shock once it makes contact with Illinois's armour. "Was that an electric shock!?"

North waves off the Huntress's concerns. "Don't worry about it. With our Aura and Mjolnir armour, that kind of shock is more of a sting than anything else, although I don't recommend getting pumeled by it."

For another five minutes, Ruby watches as South give off blow after blow onto Illinois who can only defend himself for so long from the angry female Freelancer. Ruby notices how the Freelancers move and fight more like Hunters than actual soldiers.

The match finally comes to an end when South thrusts her pugil stick into Illinois's stomach, making him lean forward before spinning and uppercutting him in the chin with her weapon, throwing Illinois in the air for a few seconds until he eventually lands on his back in pain.

"Poor Illinois" sighed North, shaking his head in sympathy.

As Ruby watches South leave the arena and the medics looks over Illinois, she can't help but wonder how Jaune has managed to bring so many odd characters into the Freelancers without the military getting out of control. She knows General Ironwood wouldn't stand for such characters in the Atlesian military.

Ruby's shaken out of her thoughts when she sees North press a finger to the earpiece in his right ear. She can't hear what the voice is saying to the Freelancer, but she can see North nod his head with a serious look on his face.

"Yes sir, I'm on my way" spoke North before disconnecting the call from his earpiece. Without so much as a glance in Ruby's direction, North picks up his helmet and puts it on. It's only when the helmet is securely locked on does he look back at the curious Huntress. "Sorry to cut this short, but I've got work to do. Would ya mind heading back to the medical bay for me?"

Ruby opens her mouth to answer, but North has already ran off down the hallway. Blinking, she turns towards the opposite direction to where the Medical Bay is located and looks back towards the direction North ran off to. Seeing nobody around, Ruby gains a determined glint in her eyes and she runs after the Freelancer.

_"I never did say I would." _

**xXx**

In one of the many labs of the _Mother of Invention_, Jaune Arc can be found, studying the latest research on a ScrollTablet from one of his best scientists. "And you actually completed the formula?" he asked, looking away from the ScrollTablet to the scientist who's working on a console in front of him.

Many people might believe in the stereotypes that scientists are cliche nerds who wear white lab coats, thick round glasses and have balding heads. Sometimes, those cliches prove to be correct.

However, Alexander Nox is **not** one of those stereotypes.

Standing over six feet tall, Alexander is a giant of a man who is built with strong muscle. His long brown hair is brushed back so it stays out of his face or rather, keeps it away from his gas mask which he is always seen wearing. Every Freelancer knows not to mess with Alexander since he is just as dangerous as he is brilliant.

Once hailing from Mistral, Alexander was a brilliant and well respected scientist who worked in the Research and Development branch for the Mistral Council. Now, he's on Mistral's most wanted list, due to his experiments becoming more gruesome, especially after using them on Human and Faunus subjects. After his experiments were discovered, Alexander left Mistral after killing the head of the research lab and burning said lab down to the ground.

After escaping the authorities, Jaune found and offered the scientist a role in the Freelancer's own R&D branch. While Alexander is clearly a very dangerous man, Jaune can't ignore the man's brilliance, although the scientist prefers to go by the name, Caustic now.

**( Caustic - Apex Legends ) **

Caustic's brilliance is being proven right now in front of Jaune as he looks through the one-way mirror to see a Grimm in a large glass container in a secured room. The container lies in the very centre of the room with four tubes connected to the roof of the Grimm's prison. It's always such a pain to capture Grimm alive, especially an Alpha Ursa of all things.

Said Grimm let's out a battle cry as it throws its entire body into the side of the glass container. However, the Grimm bounces back, having failed to even scratch the wall. That is likely because the Grimm's prison is made up of blast-proof glass. Even though the Grimm is an Alpha Ursa which is one of the physically stronger Grimm out there, the container's material can survive explosions from missiles. It would take a hundred Alpha Ursa or one S-Rank Grimm to break through the glass.

Blast-proof glass is strong, but S-Rank Grimm like a Leviathan are a lot stronger.

Wearing his iconic gas mask, Caustic nods while still pressing buttons on his console. "Indeed. Now it's time to see if Grimm can survive death itself" answered the scientist before pressing a large green button.

The hatches in the container's ceilings open, allowing green gas to pour into the Grimm's container. For the first few seconds, the Alpha Ursa doesn't seem to notice the gas pouring into its prison, but once it does, the effects are nearly immediate. In a cry of anguish, the Grimm starts banging itself against the wall, but this time, it's out of desperation than rage.

Jaune ignores how Caustic is chuckling beside him and continues to watch as the Alpha Ursa seems to slow down before finally collapsing to the floor. A second later, the Grimm's body starts to disperse into smoke, signifying its death. "It worked."

"In the end, death always win" spoke Caustic with a chuckle.

Jaune doesn't need to see Caustic's face to know he's quite pleased with himself and the results of his Nox Gas. Not that he can blame him since his Nox Gas has just been proven to be effective against Grimm. The Kingdoms made attempts of their own to beat Grimm with poisonous gas and other biological weaponry, but to no effect. However, Caustic has made his own poisonous gas that has proven to be fatal to the Grimm and Jaune is looking forward to see its effects in the near future.

Nox Gas can hopefully be used to clear out dozens, if not hundreds of Grimm all at once in a widespread area. It'll not only save on the cost of ammo, but the possible lives of men and women who have to use them.

Before Jaune can speak, he hears his Scroll buzz in his jacket. Pulling out the device, he answers it. "Yes?"

"Sir, Bloodhound has just contacted us. The targets have settled and made camp" spoke Adam from the other end of the call.

That's the best news Jaune has heard all day and that includes Caustic's gas being poisonous to Grimm. "Good. Have the teams assembled?"

"Waiting for your orders, sir."

"Good, I'm on my way to the Bridge" told Jaune before disconnecting the call and placing his Scroll back into his pocket.

"No time to rest for the weary" said Caustic who is still messing around with the console in front of him.

Jaune smirks at the scientist. "There'll be plenty of rest after we change the world" he answered before walking out of Caustic's laboratory. Having left in a hurry, Jaune doesn't hear Caustic's reply.

"Or when we're all dead."

**( Mother of Invention - Bridge )**

Ruby peeks around the corner where she sees North meet up with two other Freelancers who are equipped in their own suits of Mjolnir armour. However, Ruby recognizes only one of the two who is North's sister, South. The other Freelancer she doesn't recognize, but she can tell by the slender physique from under the cyan-coloured armour that they must be female. What has Ruby really curious is how each one seems to be equipped with weaponry, meaning they are likely going to be needing to use them soon.

From her cover, Ruby watches the three Freelancers walk through a pair of sliding doors which closes right behind them. Seeing nobody else in the surrounding vicinity, Ruby tip toes towards the doors, making sure to stay out of range of the doors automatic sensors. It would be very awkward for the doors to open and show everyone that she was spying on them.

Hugging her back to the wall, Ruby strains her hearing to find out what the Freelancers are doing. While she can only hear mumbling, she does recognize the voice of Jaune from inside the room. _"Jaune!" _

So distracted in her snooping, Ruby doesn't see the giant of a man behind her until she hears... growling?

**( Mother of Invention - Bridge )**

"Does everyone understand their orders?" asked Jaune, looking over the Freelancers he has chosen for the important mission. All of the Freelancers and Jaune himself are standing around a holographic table that's in the centre of the Bridge while it depicts a holographic image of a makeshift camp of sorts. With the help of Bloodhound who is waiting for them nearby the enemy's camp, they are able to get a bird's eye view of the enemy camp, showing them the structure of the camp and the number of enemies, giving them an even bigger advantage.

The mission will be dangerous, much more so than any previous ones they've undergone. It'll only be even more dangerous if _she _were to return during the time of attack.

That is why he has picked the best Freelancers he has on hand at the momentinto undergo the mission.

Team A will consist of Carolina, Washington, York and the missing Maine.

Team B will consist of North, South, Wyoming, and C.T.

All the attending Freelancers either nod or offer their vocal agreement, although one of them is looking around the Bridge, noticing a specific Freelancer missing.

"Sir, what about Maine? Isn't he coming along?" asked North, having noticed the muscle of the Freelancers missing. While Maine is usually as silent as a ghost, his pure white armour and intimidating presence makes it hard to ignore him.

Jaune looks around the Freelancers in the Bridge, although he has already noticed Maine's absence before briefing everyone of their mission. "Maine isn't usually someone to miss out on briefing. Something must be holding him up" he answered, wondering what could distract the Faunus.

Jaune soon gets his answer when the sounds of a tiny shriek and struggling can be heard just outside the doorway. After a moment, the doors slide open, revealing Maine in all his armoured and intimidating glory. He makes his presence known to everyone on the Bridge by hissing loudly, making a few nearby scientists who are working on the consoles uncomfortable. Walking into the Bridge with a red hood in his right hand, everyone takes note of the struggling cargo Maine is dragging behind him before he stops in front of the holographic table and lifts up said cargo, showing it off to everyone like a prize.

"Hey! Let me go you big meanie!" cried Ruby, struggling in the air while kicking her arms and feet. For a professional Huntress, Ruby doesn't appear to act like one.

South's shaking shoulders shows that she's finding Ruby's situation amusing and is trying her best to hold herself back from laughing.

North is holding a hand to the face of his helmet while shaking his head, blaming himself for what's happening right now.

Carolina shakes her head as well, although it's because she's disappointed with what she's seeing.

**( Carolina - Red Vs Blue )**

Jaune looks to be easily amused by the smile on his face. "You can out her down now, Maine."

Hissing out a response, Maine let's go of the red cloak, having Ruby land on the floor with her rear. "Jerk" she muttered, standing up and patting her rear to get rid of the invisible dust.

"What should we do with our little stowaway?" asked Carolina, looking at Ruby who seems to realize the position she's in.

"You think she's a spy?" C.T. asked Wyoming who's standing beside her.

**( C.T. - Red Vs Blue )**

"If she is, this is gonna be amusing" answered Wyoming, folding his arms in front of his chest.

**( Wyoming - Red Vs Blue )**

"Let's not get irrational. There could be a very could explanation for her spying" said Washington, although even he isn't confident with his statement.

**( Washington - Red Vs Blue ) **

"I apologize, sir. I should've made sure she returned to the medical bay first" apologized North, but Jaune waves off his Freelancer's apology.

"No need to apologize, North. We all make mistakes and we learn from them. It's how we grow as Humans and Faunus" stated Jaune, not once dropping his smile. He turns from North to look at Ruby who is looking at everything but his eyes. "Now then, what should we do with you?"

"I say we throw her overboard. Let the Grimm deal with her" said South, glaring into Ruby's frightened silver eyes.

"South" said North in a warning tone that only older siblings can make. Ruby would know since Yang has been known to use that exact same tone whenever she stole from the cookie jar.

"What? Don't pretend like this isn't your fault when it clearly is" laughed South.

Jaune shakes his head over his Freelancers antics, ignoring Wyoming who tries to tell another one of his knock knock jokes. "Let's get back on track. Maine, your team will brief you on the mission during transport to the enemy location."

Maine nods while hissing, making Ruby take a step away from the intimidating Faunus.

Jaune places his hands in the holographic table and leans down on it, making sure to stare deep into each Freelancer's eyes so he can get his message across. "I don't need to remind you all that this mission is of vital importance. During transport, I want each and every one of you to remember what they did to our people. Not just to the civilians under our protection, but to your fellow Freelancers who lost their lives protecting them. I want you to show them what true fear looks like. I want you to show them what happens to those who mess with our family. Am I understood?"

Ruby looks around the Bridge, seeing each one of the Freelancers standing up straight and saluting by placing their fists to where their hearts are. It isn't just the Freelancers who are saluting, but also the scientists who were working on the consoles.

"YES SIR!" declared everyone in the room, except for Ruby and Jaune.

Jaune nods, looking more serious than Ruby has ever seen him. "Good. You are dismissed. Give them hell."

Ruby watches as each of the Freelancers exit the Bridge, leaving the scientists by the console and Ruby with Jaune who has turned around and is staring out of the window, looking over the forestry of Mistral.

Swallowing some saliva that gets caught in the back of her throat, Ruby walks over to Jaune until she's only one step away from him. "I'm sorry."

"Honestly, I don't blame you. After being trapped here for so long, I'd be snooping for some entertainment as well" replied Jaune with his voice full of joyful amusement. When he turns around, that joyful amusement vanishes as he glares down at Ruby, making the proud and strong Huntress feel small. "But if you think you can roam around my ship without any supervision, then I might as well throw you out right now."

Ruby can't stop the cold hand from wrapping around her heart as she looks into the cold eyes of her former friend. _"H-He really means it" _she thought, wondering what happened to the sweet, but goofy boy she use to know in Beacon. "I-I won't. I promise!"

Staring at the Huntress for a few more seconds, Jaune closes his eyes and sighs before turning to face the window again. "Very well. You may stay until Dr. Grey gives the go ahead to drop you off in Vale."

Ruby nods in gratitude, even though Jaune can't see it since she's standing behind him. "Thank you. I'll return to the medical bay then" she said, turning to walk out the door.

"Stay."

Ruby stops when she hears Jaune and looks to see him looking at her from over his left shoulder. "You wanted to find out more about the Freelancers, didn't you? Then how about a demonstration to show you what we Freelancers can really do?"

Ruby blinks, wondering what he means by that before she sees a large screen appear in the glass window in front of Jaune. It shows a bird's eye view of what looks to be a large camp, likely bandits from what Ruby can tell. _"It's a holographic window" _she thought in awe, watching as eight more screens appear with video footage from the eight Freelancers helmet cameras. Each screen appears by either the left or right of the large screen in the middle, dividing them into the two teams they were assigned in.

"A year back, one of the towns we were protecting was attacked by bandits" spoke Jaune, having Ruby's full attention. "There was no warning. They just showed up in the middle of town and slaughtered anyone they saw. The team of Freelancers stationed there tried their best to protect the civilians, but they stood no chance against _her" _he said, spitting out the word like it's venom. "The team was killed without mercy. Those bandits didn't stop until everyone was either butchered, raped or pillaged. By the time reinforcements arrived, they were long gone and the Grimm were feasting on the corpses of the civilians."

Ruby can now understand why Jaune is so angry. Not only did he lose a team of his Freelancers, but the civilians he was entrusted to protect were slaughtered. She isn't the same naive girl she was when first entering Beacon. She has seen the bad things done to good people, caused by bad Humans and Faunus.

"I have been searching for them ever since and finally, we've found them..." Ruby can't help but take a step back when she sees him clench his fists and she can't help but pity the bandits who made Jaune angry. Ruby isn't one to promote death and murder, but she knows that she's on thin ice as it is with Jaune. The last thing she wants is to be thrown into a Grimm infested forest while still injured so she keeps her mouth shut.

"...we found the Branwen tribe."

Ruby's thoughts of pity for the bandits come to a halt when she hears the name of the bandit tribe that has wronged the Freelancer military. "What?" she muttered in disbelief, looking at the holographic screens to see if she heard Jaune right. Her fears come true when she sees the Freelancers footage show each team standing in the forestry on the outskirts of the bandit camp. Like most bandit camps, they have set up walls made up of logs with the edges cut into spikes so to prevent Grimm from climbing over them. On the walls is a symbol that has been painted on to show who the bandits are and much to Ruby's horror, she recognizes the symbol belonging to the Branwen tribe.

The tribe that is ruled by Yang's mother, Raven.

"The Branwen tribe? You're declaring war on the Branwen tribe?" asked Ruby in shock. She knows that the tribe is strong as most of the members are known to have their Auras unlocked. They've been a pain in the ass for all the four Kingdoms to deal with, but they can't do anything since every Hunter team that was sent after them has never returned. Some like General Ironwood would like nothing more than to send an army to annihilate the tribe, but by the time someone finds out their location, they pack up and disappear back into the Grimmlands, leaving no clues on their whereabouts.

Jaune turns to face Ruby and cocks his head to the side. "War? Ruby, I think you're mistaken. We're not declaring war on the Branwen tribe."

Ruby doesn't stop the look of confusion on her face. "You're not?"

Jaune shakes his head. "Of course not. We're going to _**slaughter **_the Branwen tribe."

Ruby widens her eyes over Jaune's declaration, as well as the bloodlust emitting from his eyes. Before she can voice her concerns, she hears the voice of Carolina speak from the screen. "General, we're in position. Shall we proceed?"

"Proceed, Carolina. Eliminate all hostiles" ordered Jaune, turning to face the screens that show the eight Freelancers closing in on the walls of the bandit camp.

"What about Raven? She'll slaughter them all" said Ruby, trying to stop Jaune from sending his Freelancers into the camp. While she admits that they're impressive, there is a reason nobody has come back alive after encountering the Branwen tribe. That reasons name is Raven Branwen who's on a league above most Hunters. She's also worried about what an attack on the tribe could do for Yang's search for her mother.

"Raven Branwen has been reported by my scout to have left the tribe early this morning. Without her, I'm confident my Freelancers can handle a tribe of savages. After all..."

Jaune looks over at Ruby, his lone organic eye shining a white light that has Ruby freeze on the spot.

"... the weak die and the strong live. I think it's about time Raven understood the true meaning of her own words."

**xXx**

On one side of the bandit camp is Team A with Carolina, Maine, Washington and York hiding within the forestry. There's three hundred feet of empty grasslands that separate the forestry and the wooden walls of the bandit tribe encampment. This is done to give the scouts that are standing on top of the camp's surroundings walls ample time to warn the rest of the tribe of an attack.

Carolina nods towards her teammates. "You heard the General, let's get to work. Maine, you know what to do" she said, nodding towards the heavy hitter.

Maine growls in recognition. Using the magnets in the back of his armour, Maine sticks his iconic Brute Shot to his back before picking up the heavy piece of weaponry beside him.

**( Brute Shot - Halo Series )**

Watching Maine step out of cover of the trees and into the sight of the bandit scouts that are watching from atop their wooden walls, Carolina connects her armour's comm-link to Team B who are positioned on the opposite end of the bandit camp. "Maine's in position. How's it going on your end?"

"Just swell. Wyoming is in position and ready to deliver the payload" answered North from the opposite end of the bandit camp. He doesn't miss the bandits who spot the white armoured Wyoming and they have likely took notice of Maine as well. "Our hosts don't look too keen on seeing us though"

"Well then, I guess we'll have to give them their presents" chuckled Carolina before turning towards Maine. "Light them up, Maine!"

Hissing, Maine drops down to his knee and slams his heavy weapon to the ground, making sure the weapon's head is pointing upwards. The weapon in his hands so happens to be a powerful support weapon that goes by the simple name, Mortar. Like all mortars, it's a long ranged weapon that fires an explosive shell, but unlike regular mortars, the Mortar fires a special type of shell. As shown when Maine fires the explosive shell into the air and is soon followed by Wyoming's own shell which he fires a second later.

**( Mortar - Gears of War Series )**

The bandit scouts can do nothing but watch as the two shells fly over their heads before falling to the middle of their camp. Just as the shells hit the twenty meter distance before hitting the floor, they explode and scatter explosive bomblets, causing more widespread destruction.

Team A and B don't need to be inside the camp to know the shells are causing mass destruction and death for the Branwen tribe. They can see the flames from the explosions and the screams of surprise and pain from the bandits.

Carolina nods before turning towards Maine. "Again."

Maine doesn't reply, having already loaded another shell before firing it once more. Wyoming is closely following Maine's lead, dropping another shell on the stunned bandit tribe, making another explosion which likely kills a few more of the bandits.

Nodding in satisfaction, Carolina steps out from the tree she's using as cover and aims her M395 Designated Marksman Rifle at one of the two scouts on the wall before shooting a hole in his head.

**( M395 Designated Marksman Rifle - Halo Series )**

The second scout beside him doesn't last much longer, having lost her own head after York shoots her with his Battle Rifle.

**( BR85 Heavy Barrel Service Rifle/Battle Rifle - Halo Series )**

"Maine, want to lead the way?" asked York, referring to the wall made up of logs.

Maine throws aside the Mortar and hisses. Cracking his neck, Maine takes a running stance before he charges towards the wall of wood. Trees may be tough, but Maine is tougher. With a tackle, Maine breaks through the wall of logs with minimal effort, having also thrown aside a bandit who is unfortunate enough to be standing at the wrong place at the wrong time. Ignoring how the bandit lands with the sound of his bones snapping, Maine growls and pulls out his Brute Shot from his back. Waiting for nobody, Maine starts firing at the confused and injured bandits, taking no survivors as his explosive grenades explode upon impact.

Carolina, York and Washington watch from the hole Maine just made in the wall as he destroys and kills everything in sight.

"We don't need to join in, do we?" asked Washington, turning towards Carolina.

"I'm with Wash. Why not kick back and let Maine do all the work?" said York, agreeing with Washington.

Carolina shakes her head and jogs through the hole. "Boys" she muttered, but both of her teammates hear her.

Wash and York turn to each other. "What did we do?" asked Washington in confusion.

York sighs and follows after his team leader. "Hell if I know."

On the other side of the bandit camp, Team B runs towards the wall, but instead of breaking through it like Maine did, they jump straight over the wall, having no need to use their afterburners to help them as their Aura and armour's physical enhancements are plenty enough for them to use to get over the high wall.

While in midair, the four members of Team B fire their weapons down at any nearby bandits before landing with North landing on top of a bandit who falls on his back with the heavy Freelancer on him. Having Aura to absorb most of the impact, the bandit slowly opens his eyes and the last thing he sees is the barrel of North's Sniper Rifle before a bullet turns his head into mush.

"I always do enjoy our outings together" chuckled Wyoming, firing his Battle Rifle at nearby bandits who scatter when they realize they're being attacked on both sides.

"Please tell me that's not a start up for another knock knock joke" groaned North while firing his Sniper Rifle through the skull of a bandit sniper who was aiming at South.

**( SRS99-S5 AM Sniper Rifle - Halo Series )**

While firing, South sees an incoming bandit with a sword who's too close for her to shoot at. Instead, she sidesteps the bandit after he thrusts a sword at her and even leans her head back to avoid his follow up swing aimed for her neck. Grabbing his outwards arm, she spins her body and swings him over her head, dropping the bandit on his back. The bandit cries out pain so to shut him up, South pulls out her combat knife and jams it into his throat. She feels resistance from his Aura, but with the combination of her Aura and her armour-enhanced strength, she pushes through his Aura's defenses and stabs the knife straight through his throat.

Ignoring the blood gushing out of the dying bandit's neck, South pulls out her knife and throws it at a bandit who is aiming a rocket launcher at her brother. While the blade doesn't pierce the man's hand, it does chase him to involuntarily let go of his weapon, just as he pulls the trigger. The result is an explosion that kills him, as well as his fellow bandits beside him.

C.T. fires her Battle Rifle at a group of bandits from behind a pile of boxes, but jumps out of the way when the pile of boxes beside her explodes outwards to reveal a large and muscular Faunus with horns on his head, holding a large battle axe which he drops down on C.T. who rolls to the side.

C.T. widens her eyes when she sees the ground explode from the impact with the bandit's axe. _"He's strong" _she thought, looking at his snarling visage.

"Time to fucking die!" roared the muscular Faunus as he swings at the Freelancer. He grins as he sees his battle axe cut straight through the armoured woman's torso, only to widen his eyes when he sees her vanish in thin air, courtesy of the Holographic Projection Armour Enhancement that is installed in her suit of Mjolnir armour.

"You're right."

The bandit soon finds out where his opponent disappeared to once he feels her elbow hit the left side side of his jaw. Dropping down to one knee and grabbing his jaw in pain, the muscular bandit barely manages to cross his arms in front of his face to block the Freelancer's knee, but the strength in the blow is enough to throw the large Faunus onto his back. Before he can get back up, the Faunus coughs up the air in his lungs after C.T. drops a boot in his chest.

"It's time to die, but not for me" stated C.T. before noticing three bandits aiming at her in the distance. Thinking fast, she grabs the muscular Faunus by the collar of his shirt and lifts his large body in front of her. The bandit doesn't get much time to think about what's happening when he feels gunfire hit him in the back. Within seconds, the constant gunfire shatters the Faunus's Aura and the bandit's body is soon riddled with bullets. However, those bullets eventually do stop when the bandits weapons run out of ammo.

The moment C.T. hears the clicking of the bandits empty guns, she let's go of the bloody corpse she was using as a shield and with the button already pressed, she throws a fragmentation grenade at the three reloading bandits. The bandits widen their eyes in horror when they see the incoming grenade and they move to get of the blast range of the explosive. Their attempts prove to be worthless once C.T. pulls out her M6G Magnum from her hip and shoots at the flying grenade with excellent precision, causing it to prematurely detonate and release its shrapnel payload in the faces of the bandits.

**( Fragmentation Grenade - Halo Series ) **

Maine can be found in the centre of the bandit camp, being surrounded by nearly two dozen bandits with most of them dead.

As he diverts an axe from a Rabbit Faunus and stick the blade part of his Brute Shot into her stomach, Maine notices another bandit in the distance who pulls aside a tarp to reveal a mounted and loaded minigun. The bandit opens fire at the Freelancers, causing all those who noticed the minigun to take cover while York pulls Washington into cover.

"York, take out the gunner!" yelled Carolina from over the deafening sound of the minigun.

"I don't think so. I'd rather not get shot today, thank you very much" told York before shooting a bandit in the stomach after they tried to flank him.

Carolina glances around the corner of her cover and notices the bandits are starting to move in on their position. "They're regrouping!"

Growling, Maine decides to deal with the problem himself since nobody else is obviously going to do it. Peeking over his cover to make sure he has the minigun's position correct, Maine runs out of cover and into the open field. Of course, the bandit on the minigun sees the bulky Freelancer and turns his weapon towards him. As the bandit follows the running Maine with his minigun, this gives Carolina and the rest of her team the opening they need.

"Maine's giving us an opening. Open fire!" ordered Carolina before she fires at the bandit on the minigun with York and Washington following her a second later. While the bandit may have Aura, a few well placed shots in the face and chest from their rifles is plenty enough to shatter his Aura and leave him with a few holes in his body.

With the minigun out of commission, Maine takes a ninety degree turn and runs straight at the regrouped pile of bandits who open fire on him. Holding out his Brute Shot to use as a makeshift shield, Maine rolls forward and lands on his knees with the Brute Shot aimed at the group of bandits. With a snarl, he pulls the trigger and fires the entire belt of six grenades at the group of bandits. The bandits all cry out as the six grenades explode in series, throwing aside the bandits with Aura while the unlucky ones with no Aura are left in pieces.

Standing up, Maine walks up to the lone bandit who is the only one lucky enough to survive the onslaught of grenades, although his Aura has shattered after the fifth explosion and his legs are currently missing. The bandit tries to crawl away while groaning in pain, but is stopped when Maine stomps his boot on the leg-less bandit's back, pinning him in place. The Faunus Freelancer gives the bandit mercy by stabbing his Brute Shot into the bandit's shull, killing him instantly.

After pulling out his weapon from the back of the man's skull, Maine looks around for his next victim, only for a beam of energy to hit him in the chest. The energy beam launches the Freelancer backwards as he slides through the ground, making a trench with his body until the energy beam fades, leaving Maine lying on a small crater at the end of the trench.

"Maine!" cried out Carolina before she notices an energy beam moving towards the rest of her team. "Look out!" she yelled before jumping over the energy beam. Following their team leader's warning, both Washington and York avoid the energy beam by either ducking or jumping over it.

Once the energy beam fades away, Carolina follows the direction it came from and sees the source of it to be coming from a young woman with short brown hair and wielding two crescent shaped blades with gun barrels. By the clothing and bloodthirsty grin on her face, Carolina can make an educated guess that she's a member of the tribe, although better than the _cannon fodder_. Said cannon fodder seem to be trying to organize themselves behind the female bandit.

Vernal smirks, having enjoyed taking down the armoured soldier by herself. From what she can tell by the armour, she guesses that they're soldiers from Atlas. "You're not so fucking tough now, are you?" she stated, smirking in arrogance, even after half the tribe has been killed by the attackers. Behind Vernal, the gathering bandits bellow out a rally cry, aiming their weapons at Carolina and her team while North's team deal with the bandits on the other side of the camp.

Vernal's arrogant smirk dies when Carolina starts chuckling in obvious amusement. "What's so fucking funny?!"

"Just the thought of Maine actually kicking the bucket after just one blow."

Just as Carolina finishes speaking, Vernal sees the bulky armoured soldier push himself back to his feet, brushing a hand on the burn marks where Vernal hit him with a concentrated blast of Lightning Dust. Maine growls at the shocked Vernal and cracks his neck before loading a new belt of grenades into the Brute Shot.

Vernal sighs. "Motherfuc-"

She doesn't get to finish once Maine fires a live grenade at her. The explosion scatters the group of bandits in all directions, some either dead or injured, but most having enough Aura to survive through the explosion. Vernal is the only one who doesn't fall to her feet, having stood her ground by crossing her weapons in front of herself to protect against most of the explosion. That doesn't mean she isn't effected, having been forced twenty feet back if the two skid marks in front of her are any indication.

As the Freelancers and bandits continue to battle one another, Carolina charges at Vernal while firing her DMR. Vernal either avoids or blocks the gunfire as she runs at Carolina as well. The moment she's within range, Vernal swings her left blade upwards and cuts through Carolina's rifle after she tries to use it to block the incoming blade.

Taking a step back and having managed to dodge the bandit's crescent-shaped blade by a millimeter or two, Carolina looks at the two pieces of what use to be her weapon. Shaking her head, Carolina drops the two pieces and reaches behind her, pulling out her Humbler Stun Baton.

**( Humbler Stun Device - Red Vs Blue ) **

The baton extends outward and once it reaches its maximum length, lightning sparks from the tip of the baton, courtesy of the highly concentrated Lightning Dust crystal she has embedded in it. Spinning the stun baton in her left hand, Carolina takes a fighting stance. "Bring it."

Vernal smirks at the challenge and charges at the Freelancer. Once she's ten feet away from the Freelancer, she jumps into the air with both of her blades over her head and ready to drop onto her opponent.

Having seen the attack coming, Carolina rolls ahead as Vernal drops on the spot she was standing a second ago. Spinning on her feet, Carolina swings at Vernal who turns around as well, only to get hit in the side of the face with Carolina's stun baton.

As Vernal's face is thrown to the side, the bandit uses the sudden momentum to her advantage by spinning her body in a complete circle before kicking the side of Carolina's face, causing the Freelancer's own head to jerk to the side.

Taking a step back to steady herself, Carolina barely manages to tilt her head to the side to avoid the bandit's swing. Carolina grabs the extended bandit's arm with her free arm and swings her stun baton across Vernal's torso twice before spinning and flipping the bandit over her shoulder. Just as Vernal is about to land on her back, she manages to plant both of her feet flat on the ground to stop herself and with a strong jump up, she kicks a foot into Carolina's face, causing the Freelancer to let go of her arm.

Quickly kicking herself back up to her feet, Vernal spins around and aims her weapons at the Freelancer, but before she can fire at her, Carolina swings her stun baton upwards, managing to nick Vernal's chin. While the physical blow didn't hurt the bandit, the powerful jolt of lightning from the stun baton is plenty enough to stagger the bandit. This gives Carolina plenty of time to perform a combo of swings with her stun baton, forcing Vernal to take a step back for each blow she's forced to take.

Vernal grits her teeth and fighting the growing numbness in her body, she let's out a battle cry and pulls her tight arm back to swing her blade through the Freelancer's neck. Unfortunately, her body has become too slow and sluggish after being hit so much with Carolina's stun baton and so, Carolina easily sees the move coming and answers by thrusting her baton into Vernal's stomach.

Vernal cries out in pain as lightning engulf her body. While Aura can protect the body from physical attacks, elemental attacks is a different story entirely. That's why when Carolina pulls her stun baton back, Vernal falls to her knees before collapsing on her stomach, unconscious.

**( Mother of Invention - Bridge ) **

Ruby watches in a mixture of both awe and horror as the Freelancers slowly take apart what is known to be the largest and strongest bandit tribe in all of Remnant.

The bandits outnumbered the two teams of Freelancers 10:1 and yet, the bandits of the Branwen tribe are the ones losing the fight. Before the fight even began, the Freelancers lowered the number of enemies by using two separate mortar strikes. _"Incredible! Their teamwork is so on point and not one of their moves are wasted" _she thought, growing further amazed by the Freelancers. _"They don't move like they're wearing heavy armour at all!" _

Ruby watches as North and South fight a group bandits in close quarters with their weapons. Of all the Freelancers fighting, she notices that they work together better than any of the others. During their fight together, the pair are shown to throw each other their weaponry without even having to look at one another. _"They don't even glance at each other when fighting and yet, their teamwork is perfect. How do they do that?" _

As if reading her mind, Jaune answers her. "It's their Semblance. Both North and South have the Semblance known as _Mind's Eye. _It allows them to see through each other's eyes. Useless when used alone, but when they fight together, it becomes very formidable."

"Wow" muttered Ruby, watching as the pair continue to take down more bandits.

While the bandits do have numbers in their side, as well as home field advantage, the Freelancers are quickly overpowering them with their better training, better equipment and even better teamwork. It's almost unfair how one sided the fight really is.

Soon enough, the Branwen tribe goes from a number of over eighty strong to barely a dozen, not including the missing Raven. After suffering so many losses, the smarter members of the Branwen tribe surrender to the Freelancers, especially after they witness Carolina defeats Vernal in their fight. The Freelancers quickly round up the remaining bandits and have them all lined up beside one another. They are all forced onto their knees with their hands placed on their head, including a bruised and pissed off looking Vernal.

"I can't believe it" muttered Ruby in awe. "You actually defeated the Branwen tribe." She actually can't believe that two teams of Freelancers has managed to accomplish what the four Kingdoms have failed to do for years.

Being so focused on the screen, Ruby doesn't see the glint in his eyes. "Not yet."

Ruby turns to look up at Jaune, confusion etched onto her face. "What do you mean?"

"General, we've gathered what remains of the tribe. What shall we do with them?" asked Carolina through the comm-link connection between her helmet and the Bridge.

Jaune ignores the Huntress beside him and responds to his Freelancer. "Remember your orders, Carolina. Avenge the fallen."

Carolina nods. "Yes sir."

Ruby widens her eyes in horror when she realizes what is about to happen. "Wait!"

Carolina ignores Ruby's cry and turns towards Washington, York, South and Wyoming who are standing behind the captured bandits. "You heard the General. No survivors."

The four Freelancers don't reply, but they do aim their weapons at the backs of the bandits heads. Each bandit looks up at Carolina with faces etched in horror when they realize that they are now going to die.

Vernal decides to speak her last words. "You little shi-!"

Ruby jumps back as she watches the Freelancers gun down the bandits without mercy. One bandit did try to make a run for it, but she didn't make it far. Some others tried to use the remnants of their Aura to protect themselves from the bullets, but the Freelancers didn't stop shooting until their weapons are out of ammo. By then, their Auras would have shattered and their brains would be sprayed across the floor in front of them.

Nodding in satisfaction, Jaune disconnects the signal to the Freelancers Mjolnir armour, turning the screen back into a regular window. "Comments?" he asked, glancing towards the horrified Huntress.

"B-But... w-wha..." muttered Ruby while still trying to overcome her shock of what she has just seen.

"Were you impressed?"

Ruby whips her head to the side so fast that Jaune is actually surprised she isn't suffering from neck pain. "Impressed? I'm horrified! They surrendered! There was no reason to kill them all!"

Jaune raises a curious brow. "And? You just wanted me to let a group of murderers and rapists get away so they can continue to do what they do best?"

"No!" denied Ruby. "But you could have taken them prisoner and given them over to one of the Kingdoms for imprisonment."

Jaune shakes his head. "While that was definitely an option, I wouldn't want to waste time and resources feeding the prisoners, or to waste manpower transporting them. Besides, with their deaths, my fallen children can finally rest in peace, knowing that their killers have been given justice" he said before turning around and walking towards the door.

"And what gives you the right to play judge, jury and executioner!" yelled Ruby, turning around and glaring at the back of the General. Whatever fear of being kicked out of the airship disappears as the Huntress glares at Jaune who has stopped halfway towards the door.

Jaune remains silent for a moment, even as the nearby scientists turn to see what the commotion is about. After a moment of silence, Jaune slowly turns around and looks at Ruby with no hint of anger or annoyance in his eyes. He simply stares at Ruby with the blankest expression she has ever seen on someone's face. "In the Grimmlands, we are all the judge, jury and executionor. You should be smart enough to remember that, Ms. Rose. It might just save your life."

After a staring contest between Jaune's blank blue eyes and Ruby's glaring silver ones, Jaune turns around and walks out of the sliding doors. Before they close behind him, he looks over his shoulder.

"Please return to the medical bay, Ms. Rose. You are still injured."

Page 19 of 19


	3. Reunion

**Enjoy.**

**xXx**

**( Mother of Invention - Hanger Bay )**

Fifteen days has finally passed by since Ruby's involuntary stay with the Freelancers and she's now happy to say that she is back to being 100% healthy.

Unfortunately, the last few days on the _Mother of Invention _has been spent in a state of awkwardness. Ever since she witnessed the Freelancers slaughter the surrendering bandits on the orders of Jaune, she has been having trouble looking at any of them in the eyes, even the nicer Freelancers like North and York. She remembers seeing those two among those in the firing squad, gunning down the bandits without so much as a flinch. Not once did they question their orders or show any remorse to what they've done.

In her career as a Huntress, Ruby will freely admit that she has shed the blood of bandits and White Fang terrorists as well, but unlike Jaune, she has always given them the option to surrender either before or during the battle. Sometimes they accept the offer and other times, they don't. If they refuse to surrender, Ruby understands that she has no other choice but to use Crescent Rose so to make sure they can't harm any more innocent people. Sadly, the only way to do that is to cut them down.

However, the remaining bandits of the Branwen tribe had surrendered to the Freelancers and didn't pose a threat to anyone anymore. They could have easily been detained and sent to the nearest Kingdom for permanent could have spent their lives atoning for their sins in a prison cell.

Instead, Jaune ordered them to be gunned down without mercy, an action in which Ruby strongly disagrees with.

Trying her best to ignore her feelings on the matter, Ruby Rose waits in the hanger bay of the airship, awaiting for the Bullhead to prepare itself for the trip which will take her back to Beacon Academy. They're still in the outskirts of Mistral so the trip will take two days of constant travel, as long as they don't encounter any airborne Grimm.

Just before she left the medical bay this morning, she had been given back Crescent Rose, much to her joy. After spending two weeks without her baby, Ruby has just been dying to give her weapon a maintenance check once she gets back to Beacon. It likely got damaged from the explosion that launched her off Mount Glenn. Falling off the mountain probably didn't do it any wonders either.

The only downside of having her weapon back on her person is that she's now considered a dangerous liability within the Freelancer airship. This means that Ruby has to try and ignore the squad of Freelancers who have been assigned to watch over her. She hasn't spoken a word to any of the four Freelancers, but Ruby can almost feel their stares into the back of her head. As much as Ruby wants to look over Crescent Rose, she's sure that if she so much as glanced at her weapon, they'd unload their own weapons into her back.

The thought of that has Ruby suddenly remember the execution of the Branwen bandits and it has her feel a little queasy over the memory.

"Ready to get going, Ms. Rose?"

Ruby looks to her right to see the Commander himself in all his cybernetic glory, walking towards her with someone else following close behind him.

The figure following Adam is much shorter than the Commander and looks to be around the same height as Ruby herself. Although, it's hard to tell what his true height might be, seeing as his legs are missing and have been replaced with cybernetic limbs. Since he's wearing shorts, Ruby can see his cybernetic limbs in their entirety and notes their dated design. Oddly enough, his cybernetics aren't the strangest thing about the man. Since he's wearing a militaristic green vest which only covers his upper chest, Ruby can see the two black circles imbedded in the man's stomach and guesses that they have something to do with his cybernetics. Sitting right in the centre between the two circles on the man's stomach is a tattoo of the Freelancer symbol. He isn't the first person Ruby has seen with the Freelancer tattoo on their body as she has noticed a few others with it on their arms, legs or even neck. Ruby looks at the man's face, only for her to see no actual features, due to him wearing a hat, goggles and a strange face mask.

"Ms. Rose, I'd like to introduce you to Octane. Octane, this is Ruby Rose" introduced Adam, stepping to the side while introducing the Freelancer and Huntress to each other.

**( Octane - Apex Legends ) **

Swallowing the saliva that has piled up in the back of her throat because of her nerves, Ruby takes a step forward and offers her right hand for a handshake. "Hello, it's ni-" Ruby takes a step back when Octane suddenly runs up to Ruby's face, nearly having the Huntress hit her head off his own.

"You're Ruby Rose, aren't ya? The word going around town is that you're pretty fast! Not to brag, but I'm pretty fast myself. Wanna race?!" Octane speaks in such speed and energy that Ruby is reminded of Nora when she's on a sugar rush.

"W-What?" muttered Ruby, having a hard time keeping track with the Freelancer's sentences. Being friends with Nora doesn't mean she has picked up the skill to read fast lips, unlike Ren who has mastered the art.

"I said do.. you wanna... race..."

Ruby takes another step back as Octane suddenly slouches forward, having lost all the energy in his body, but still managing to keep himself standing. Ruby is suddenly reminded of a time when one of her toys from her childhood runs out of Dust and slowly powers itself down.

"Whats wrong with him?" Ruby asked Adam, having no idea what just happened. She's very weirded out by this odd man and has no idea what to do. _"He didn't just die, did he?" _She starts to panic when she notices the man's lack of breathing.

Adam sighs and shakes his head over Octane's actions. "Apologies for that. Octane is a bit... eccentric. Even for Freelancer standards. He's an adrenaline junkie so he likes to keep himself moving, but it looks like he ran out of juice. Just give him a minute" advised Adam, watching as Octane's right hand slowly reaches to the pouch that's attach to his right hip.

Ruby can only stare as Octane pulls out a syringe with a strange green liquid and before Ruby can question what it is, Octane stabs the needle into his thigh, injecting himself with the green liquid. All of a sudden, Octane jumps into the air and runs straight into the Bullhead, but not before running around Ruby twice. "Let's go! We're burning daylight folks!" cheered Octane, jumping around in the back of the Bullhead in uncontrollable excitement.

_"Dear Brothers, it's a male version of Nora" _thought, inwardly crying at the thought of the two meeting. She doesn't think Remnant can survive such a meeting.

With his shades on, nobody can see Adam close his eyes in annoyance. Out of all the Freelancers in the airship, he had to get stuck with Octane of all people. Sadly, everyone else is either too busy on their own assignments or are still recovering after the large celebration which took place after they eliminated the Branwen tribe. Many are still nursing headaches from what Adam remembers, seeing as the celebration lasted several days.

Nobody trusts Octane enough to be left alone with him and for good reason. His love for life or death stunts, as well as his tendency to blow something up hasn't made him very popular amongst the other Freelancers, especially after he crashed that Bullhead a year ago after he took it for a _test drive. _

Now, he's going to be stuck in a Bullhead with the adrenaline junkie for the next day or two.

Adam walks up beside Ruby and nods. "We best get going or he'll never shut up." With nothing more to speak about, Adam walks into the Bullhead with Ruby following after him a few seconds later.

The Freelancer squad behind Ruby waits for the Huntress to enter the Bullhead before going in themselves. They've been assigned to watch over the Huntress until she returns to the custody of Beacon Academy, as per their strict orders from the General himself.

**( Beacon - Ozpin's Office )**

Ozpin has to stop himself from throwing his Scroll against the wall after it rings for what feels like the one hundredth time today.

Two weeks has passed by since Ruby's disappearance and the frequent calls for information by her teammates has only increased every passing day. If the rest of Team RWBY aren't searching for the whereabouts of their team leader, then they're calling Ozpin for information which he simply doesn't have.

With no sign of Ruby's body or evidence to where it might be, Ozpin fears that Salem might have something to do with Ruby's disappearance. After all, she has become a very useful piece on the board for Ozpin and he wouldn't put it past Salem to eliminate Ruby so to lessen his own strength.

After waiting for his Scroll to stop buzzing, Ozpin opens his eyes, allowing a sigh to escape his lips, enjoying the brief silence he gets, knowing that it won't last long.

Not even a minute passes by before he's proven correct when the holographic screen from his desk terminal appears in front of him. Only those within his inner circle knows the number to his private terminal which is used to discuss private matters on the secure line. What has Ozpin surprised is the fact that the number calling him is an unknown number, meaning that it isn't anyone from his inner circle, unless they're using a new Scroll.

Accepting the call, Ozpin waits as the call connects before the screen shows a young, but serious man who has shades covering his eyes. Ozpin frowns, failing to recognize the stoic man. "Who is this? How did you get this number?"

"I am Commander Adam Jensen of the Freelancer military" spoke the young man, looking as stone faced as James does when he's serious. "And I've got a package for you"

Ozpin prides himself in having the largest network of informants across Remnant. Qrow is definitely one of his best spies, due to his ability to change his appearance into a bird, but the experienced Huntsman can't be everywhere at once. After all, information is power to the right people. So when his informants start telling him about a powerful military force which appeared out of nowhere and started to take over territory in the Grimmlands, Ozpin can't help but find his interest peaked.

However, even with his large network of informants and Qrow, Ozpin couldn't learn any noteworthy pieces of information about the private military, other than their name. Needing to know more information about the Freelancers, the Beacon Headmaster had Qrow attempt to bribe a soldier of the Freelancers for more information about the military, such as their numbers, their type of weaponry or even how they get their resources.

After all, there isn't a lot of people who can turn down good money.

At least, that's what Ozpin always thought. However, the moment Qrow offered the bribe towards a lone Freelancer, the Huntsman was quickly blacklisted from the whole town and was forced to leave under the threat of declaring himself an enemy to the Freelancers. Obviously, Qrow wasn't undeterred and attempted to find information about them from another frontier town, only to find himself immediately blacklisted there as well. It didn't take Qrow and Ozpin long to figure out that the Freelancers informed the other frontier towns that are under their protection about Qrow's snooping and made sure that they all know of the Huntsman's face. This made it impossible for Qrow to find out any information about the Freelancers, at least in his Human form.

With so little information to go on and having no idea on who has earned their allegience, Ozpin could only watch from afar as the Freelancers expanded their territory over the span of ten years, taking more villages and towns under their banner in each passing month.

Now, he's actually speaking to a member of the Freelancers and a high-ranking member at that. "May I acquire about what the package is?" asked Ozpin, narrowing his eyes at the screen in suspicion.

Just as Adam opens his mouth to answer, a pair of familiar silver eyes pops into the screen, having Ozpin widen his own eyes in recognition. "Don't worry, sir. It's just me!" exclaimed Ruby before she shrieks and runs out of shot, being closely followed by a green blur.

"Ms. Rose!" gasped Ozpin, standing up from his seat as he stares at the holographic screen in shock.

Adam sighs, trying his best to ignore the cries of annoyance from the Huntress and the annoying prattling of the Freelancer that is Octane. "I apologize I couldn't wrap up your package, but it's currently running around the Bullhead like it's a playground."

"I'll stop running when _he _stops chasing me!" declared Ruby, pointing an accusing finger at Octane who continues chasing after the Huntress.

"Run! Run! Run!" yelled Octane, laughing in excitement.

"We're requesting permission to land at Beacon because I honestly can't stand this for much longer" stated Adam before glaring at Octane. "Octane, sit down and shut up!" he yelled before the call suddenly disconnects.

Ozpin hasn't been lost for words in quite a few years, but here he is, finding himself in quite an odd state of awkward silence. Not only does the missing Ruby Rose turn out to he alive, but she is also in the company of the Freelancers.

"I should probably call her team..."

**( Beacon - Bullhead Docks )**

It didn't take long for the rest of Team RWBY to arrive at the Bullhead Docks after Ozpin informs them of Ruby's impending arrival, as well as who's in her company.

"So Ruby's been with these Freelancers for the past two weeks?" asked Blake, having trouble believing that story. It seems to be to good to be true, as well as convenient timing on their part.

Weiss nods, looking sterner than she normally is. "Indeed. From the Headmaster's explanation, a scouting team found Ruby injured by the bottom of Mount Glenn and brought her back to their airship for immediate medical treatment."

Yang keeps quiet, mostly focusing on the oncoming Bullhead that has more guns on it than any normal Bullhead should actually have, especially when it's landing down on Beacon Academy. "If they so much as touched a hair on Ruby's head, I'm gonna-"

"You will not lift a finger against them, Xiao-Long" told Weiss, narrowing her eyes at Yang who actually looks surprised by Weiss's forceful protest. "When that Bullhead lands, you will be polite and not touch a single hair on _any_ of their heads. Do I make myself clear?"

Yang blinks, finding herself surprised by how forceful Weiss is being with her. She's used to Weiss giving out to her, but not this harshly. "What's got your panties in a bunch?"

Weiss doesn't an eyelash towards Yang's rude comment, making sure to keep the Freelancer Bullhead within her line of sight. "The Freelancers are a powerful private military force that you don't want to make enemies of. They could make your life very difficult, just as much they do with the SDC."

Both Yang and Blake widen their eyes after hearing Weiss's proclamation. _"There's actually someone else willing to stand up against the SDC?" _thought Blake, having never heard of the Freelancers before. If they are causing problems to the SDC, why hasn't she heard of them before?

"So if they're so big and powerful, why haven't I heard of them before?" asked Yang, placing her fists on her hips while quirking her brow at the same time.

Once she sees the Bullhead is close to landing, Weiss turns and narrows her eyes at her temperamental friend. "That's likely because the Freelancers mostly stay in the Grimmlands and you know how difficult it is to get news from there nowadays" she said, reminding her teammates about the increase of Grimm, White Fang and bandit attacks which has lead to a division between the Kingdoms, frontier towns and villages in the Grimmlands.

"If you don't mind me asking, how do they cause problems for the SDC?" asked Blake, hoping not to insult Weiss with her question.

Weiss nods in understanding as to why Blake asks. The fighting between the White Fang and SDC is still a sore subject between them. "The SDC needs Dust. What Dust mines that are within Atlas or just outside the Kingdom have either run dry or are nearing that state. They've attempted to find Dust deposits outside the Kingdom, near the frontier towns. But by the time they got there..."

"The Freelancers were there first" finished Blake, seeing where Weiss is going with this.

Weiss nods. "Yes. My father attempted to breach a deal with the Freelancers, but they refused."

"I take it daddy dearest didn't like that" grinned Yang, having met the father of Weiss a few times. She instantly gained a disliking of the older man, especially after seeing how he treats Weiss as more of a pawn than a child.

Weiss winces and shakes her head. "Father did not. After negotiations failed, he attempted to take the Dust mines from the Freelancers by force."

"What? Can he do that?" asked Yang in shock. She always knew Jacque was an asshole, but she didn't he'd do something like that!

Blake glares at the ground, but slowly nods her head. "Technically speaking, he can. If the attack took place outside of the Kingdom, then they didn't break any laws. The SDC likes to use their loopholes" answered Blake, knowing that the Schnee Dust Company uses loopholes in their employee contracts so they could give their Faunus employees less rights and less pay.

"What happened after that?" asked Yang, hoping for more info on the attack.

Before Weiss can answer, they notice the Freelancer Bullhead landing on one of the docks. Momentarily, the Huntresses forget their conversation and immediately runs over to the Bullhead, just as its bay door is opening.

"Ruby!" exclaimed Yang, running over and holding her arms open, expecting a red and black blur to collide into her for a sisterly hug.

"Run! Run! Run!"

A blur does collide into Yang, but it's not the one that she was expecting. Instead of the familiar small, red and black blur of her sister, a bigger blur of green and brown collides into Yang, surprising the Huntress by the sudden weight which causes her to fall on her back.

"Yang!"

Yang blinks, seeing her little sister run to her side. Seeing that it's not Ruby who's lying on her chest, Yang looks down to see a lanky guy wearing goggles, a weird hat and a face mask lying on her chest with his face right in between her breasts.

"Soft~"

His comment is enough to light the fuse which is Yang Xiao-Long's temper. With her lavender eyes turning red and her hair lighting up in flames, Yang grabs the lanky man by the throat, making sure to squeeze extra tight so he has to gasp for air. Once she pushes herself back up to her feet while keeping a hold on his throat, Yang reels back her free arm and throws a powerful uppercut at the man's chin, launching him straight up into the air.

Yang fully expects to hear the man cry out in pain, unless he hasn't already fallen unconscious from the strength of her punch. She definitely didn't expect to hear him suddenly cry out in excitement after being punched hundreds of feet into the air.

"WOOHOO!" cheered Octane as he flies high in the air, enjoying the feeling of adrenaline coursing through his veins while also ignoring the throbbing of his jaw.

"I'll let you have that one" sighed Weiss, seeing that it was the Freelancer who made the first inappropriate move. She would have done the same thing, no matter if they're the Freelancers or not.

Standing by the Bullhead's ramp, Adam rubs the bridge of his brow, having expected Octane to do something stupid the moment they arrived in Beacon. He just didn't expect Octane to do it within ten seconds of touching the ground. _"That's a new record if I'm not mistaken." _

"I missed you all so much!" cried Ruby, having brought her teammates into one large group hug. A hug in which they all welcome, delighted to see one another after two weeks of not knowing if they were alive or not after the battle on Mountain Glenn.

Adam watches alongside the other four Freelancers, lighting himself a cigarette before sucking in a lungful of smoke. He purposely ignores Octane who crashes to the floor several feet away. While the adrenaline junkie isn't wearing his Mjolnir armour, Octane's Aura should be enough to protect him from any permanent damage. That doesn't mean he can't feel the pain of falling hundreds of feet from the air and being punched by one of the more physically stronger Huntresses.

"I have so much to tell you" sniffed Ruby, breaking out of the hug, smiling now that she sees her team alive and well. She'll admit that she was worried for the safety of her teammates, since she didn't see them escape Mountain Glenn before she was blown off of it.

"Damn right you do" told Weiss, ignoring the wetness of her eyes as she glares at her partner. "You had us all worried."

"Now, now. I'm sure Ms. Rose can explain her story some other time."

Everyone turns to see Ozpin walking towards them with Glynda close behind them. Ozpin stops a few feet away and offers a respectful nod towards Adam. "Commander Jensen. I can't thank you enough for bringing back Ms. Rose to us. Would you kindly come with me to my office so we can discuss how you came across Ms. Rose in more detail."

Adam takes another deep pull of his cigarette before blowing all the smoke out of his lungs. Dropping the cigarette, he crushes it with his boot. "Fine, let's get this over with" he agreed before looking at the four other Freelancers behind him. "Watch the ship" he ordered them before following after the Headmaster. "And make sure Octane doesn't go anywhere!"

Just as Weiss is about to follow after Blake and Ruby who are retreating back to their room, Yang stops her by grabbing her arm. "You mind explaining to me why you have your hand on me?"

Yang chuckles and rubs the back of her head. "Sorry about that, I just wanted to ask you a question."

"Which is?" asked Weiss, folding her arms in front of her chest.

"I just wanted to know... what happened when the SDC attacked the Freelancers?" asked Yang, finding herself too curious for her own good. The SDC aren't exactly small fries as they have quite an impressive private military of their own, as well as a military agreement with the Atlas military which allows them the use of Atlesian Knights.

Weiss looks at the back of Adam and ignores the shiver that crawls down her spine.

"The SDC personnel and Atlesian Knights they sent to attack the Dust mine were all wiped out without mercy."

**( Beacon - Ozpin's Office )**

_"So this is where it all started" _thought Adam, looking at the moving gears that hang overhead Ozpin's office. _"How does he get any work done with all that noise?" _

"Would you like something to drink while you're here, Commander?" asked Ozpin after sitting down on his chair. Glynda quickly moves to Ozpin's side, looking as strict as Adam heard her to be.

Adam steps in front of Ozpin's desk, refusing both two chairs which are laid out beside him. "No thanks, Headmaster. I'd rather get this done and over with."

Ozpin offers an understanding smile. "Yes, being Commander of the Freelancers likely has a lot of responsibilities to go along with the title."

"Indeed it does."

"Now then, could you please start off on how Ms. Rose got into your care?" asked Ozpin, waiting for the Commander to explain.

Adam nods and begins to explain to the Headmaster about how Ruby Rose came under the care of the Freelancers.

**xXx**

Raven Branwen knew something was wrong the moment she felt her connection with Vernal get cut. Having been miles away from the campsite to scout out a potential village to attack, she didn't have any other choice but to fly back to camp in her bird form, since her Semblance only allows her to transport herself to the location of someone who she has a connection with. Her connection with Vernal had been severed and so, she had no other way to get back to camp but to fly.

After days of flying back to camp nonstop, Raven eventually made it back in one piece.

Only to find the entire campsite in ruins and the corpses of her family rotting or being chewed on by a pack of Beowolves.

Standing there, staring at the massacre that was once the proud Branwen tribe, Raven's grip on her blade tightens as storm clouds begin to gather overhead. Her eyes light up with power and as she roars up at the sky with nothing but pure rage, the sky answers back with several bolts of lightning piercing down at the nearby Grimm like the wrath of a God.

Once the Grimm are nothing more than ashes to the wind, Raven slowly steps forward and looks around the ruins of the campsite. She first thought that it was Salem who slaughtered her tribe, due to the Grimm, but upon closer inspection of the corpses, she sees bullet wounds on their bodies.

Narrowing her eyes at the sight, Raven Branwen glares up at nothing as her eyes remain alit with the power of the Spring Maiden.

_"Whoever did this to my family, I will kill every last one of them." _

**xXx**

"And that's how it is" told Adam, finishing the story.

Ozpin slowly nods, allowing all the information to sink in. "I'd like to thank you and the rest of the Freelancers for saving Ms. Rose's life. If not for you, I fear that Ms. Rose wouldn't have returned to Beacon. Alive anyway."

Adam waves off the gratitude. "No need to thank us, Headmaster. We were only doing what any other good person would do."

"You were, weren't you" murmured Ozpin, coming up with a plan that may just get the permission from the Council to host the Vytal Festival, as well as benefit Ozpin in his war with Salem. "Before you leave, Commander, I was hoping to offer you a proposition."

Both Adam and Glynda look at Ozpin, wondering what he would want with the Commander and the Freelancers. "Oh? And what proposition are you offering, Headmaster?" asked Adam, curiously. Obviously, he can't agree to anything without the General's consent, but if the proposition is interesting enough, then he'll be sure to inform Jaune.

"The Kingdom of Vale is suppose to host the Vytal Festival this year, but unfortunately, the Council has deemed it necessary to cancel the important event because we lack the required security to protect the city" explained Ozpin with a glint in his eye.

It doesn't take long for Adam and Glynda to figure out what the Headmaster is asking and while Glynda appears to have reservations about the proposal, Adam looks to be interested.

"I see. Would this proposition of yours happen to involve hiring the Freelancers to take over the role of security?" asked Adam, knowing the answer already.

Ozpin nods in agreement. "Indeed it does. We are in bad need for manpower, due to the increasing attacks of bandit tribes, White Fang and Grimm which has spread Vale's forces thin. The Freelancers could provide security, at least until the tournament begins, in which Atlas will then take over the security of the city."

Adam hums while scratching a finger across his chin. "I'll admit, that's an interesting proposal, Headmaster. Obviously, I can't give you a straight answer until I inform the General."

Ozpin nods in understanding. "Of course. Would you like Glynda to escort you back to your ship?"

Adam shakes his head. "No need. I'm sure I can make my way back in one piece" he said before heading towards the elevator. He just hopes the others stopped Octane from going anywhere while he was gone. Last thing he needs is to go searching for the adrenaline junkie.

Once the elevator doors close, Glynda turns to Ozpin. "Hiring the Freelancers for security? Are you sure about that, sir?"

"We need to ensure the Council that we can provide the necessary security when hosting the Vytal Festival. True, it's strange, but hiring a private military seems to be the best option to do so at the moment" answered Ozpin, tapping his fingers across his cane.

Glynda narrows her eyes at Ozpin, suspiciously. "That's not the only reason, is it?"

The edge of Ozpin's mouth twitches upwards. "No it's not. I'll admit that I'm curious about the Freelancers. Much about them are unknown, even to me."

Glynda can understand Ozpin's curiosity, since there is very little in which Ozpin doesn't know about. She nods before gaining a thoughtful expression. "True, so how about we speak to someone who has been with the Freelancers for the past two weeks?"

Ozpin smiles and nods. Picking up his Scroll, Ozpin makes a call to a certain Huntress's Scroll who picks it up almost immediately. "Ms. Rose, could you come to my office for a moment?"

"Yes sir" nodded Ruby, having a good idea on what Ozpin wants to talk to her about.

Ozpin and Glynda don't have to wait long for Ruby to arrive and neither of them are any bit surprised when they see the entirety of Team RWBY when the elevator doors open.

"You wanted to see me, sir?" asked Ruby, stepping ahead of her team to face the Headmaster.

Ozpin nods with a small smile. "Yes, Ms. Rose. Before Commander Adam left, I offered him and the rest of the Freelancers a proposition to take the role of security for the Vytal Festival. Before I get a response from them, I would like you to tell me what you know of them, seeing as you've been under their care for the past two weeks" he asked.

Behind Ruby, the rest of her team stare into her back, wanting to know about what she went through as well. Ruby looks back at her team and then at Glynda before sighing and nodding.

"If I could describe the Freelancers in one word, it would be... loyal" told Ruby, thinking back to her time with the Freelancers. After spending two weeks in their company, she believes that she has a good impression of what they're like. "Some of them may not act it, but they would all rather die than betray one another, no matter if they're Human or Faunus."

Ozpin hums, knowing about how loyal they are already, seeing as it's that loyalty to one another that has made Qrow blacklisted after a few attempts of bribery. What he doesn't know about is their numbers of mix race, since all the sightings of the Freelancers has them in their suits of armour with no noticeable animal features that stick out. He actually finds that odd, since most private militaries tend to stick with only one of the two races, mostly due to racial disputes.

Blake's bow twitches, hearing that the Freelancers are a mix of Humans and Faunus who are loyal to each other. The thought brings a smile to the Faunus's face. _"We really can live as equals." _

"What of their numbers?" interrupted Glynda. "If they're going to protect Vale, I want to know if they have the numbers to do so."

Ruby looks over at Glynda. "They definitely have the numbers. I can't say I've seen them all, but their numbers reach into the hundreds and possibly the thousands" she answered, surprising many in the room by how large the private military really is. Other private militaries would have several hundred soldiers, but nowhere near to that which could reach into the thousands.

Before Ozpin can ask anymore questions, Ruby speaks up. "I have also met with the General."

Ozpin doesn't miss the nervous expression on Ruby's face. "You have, Ms. Rose? And is there anything you want to tell us about them?" he asked, hoping she has a good description of them. Maybe he can have Qrow look for information about them once he knows their name or what they look like.

Ruby rubs her hands together and looks around the room, nervously. "We've... all actually met him."

Ruby's response has everyone look at one another in confusion. They've met the Freelancer General?

Even Ozpin doesn't know what to make of Ruby's statement, since he's sure that he would remember meeting the General of the Freelancers. "Would you mind refreshing our memories, Ms. Rose? I can't seem to recall such a meeting."

Ruby nods her head in understanding. "The Freelancer General... is Jaune."

"..."

"..."

"... Who?"

The awkward silence ends with Yang asking the question boggling both Weiss's and her own head. Blake takes a moment to recall who Jaune is before she stares at Ruby in disbelief.

"Yang~" groaned Ruby in embarrassment over her sister's forgetfulness. "Jaune Arc! He was a student with us at Beacon for the first month of first year."

It takes a few seconds for Yang's eyes to slightly widen in recognition. "Oh~, you mean Vomit boy." That's until her eyes widen when she realizes what Ruby has just said. "Wait a darn second, you mean Vomit Boy is the General of a private military?"

"Yep" said Ruby, giggling over the disbelieving expressions on her friends and sister's face.

"Impossible!" exclaimed Weiss in denial. She may not have seen him for the past ten years, but Jaune Arc had left a large impression on Weiss and not a very good one. Not only was he an annoying flirt to her, but he had also cheated his way into Beacon, taking away the spot from someone who could've earned it, unlike him. "There is no possible way that dunce could have rose to such a high rnaking position in any military. I don't believe it!"

"Are you calling me a liar?" accused Ruby, narrowing her eyes at her partner.

Weiss folds her arms and scoffs. "I'm saying that you thought you saw the dunce when in actual fact, the General just looks like him, much to his unfortunate luck."

As Ruby and Weiss begin to argue with one another, Ozpin and Glynda continue to ponder over Ruby's declaration of their former student, Jaune Arc being General of the Freelancers.

"I must agree with Ms. Schnee. Jaune Arc didn't possess the skills or necessary intelligence needed to be a Hunter, let alone a General of a military" stated Glynda, not believing Ruby for even a second. She does recall Jaune Arc, but only because he cheated his way into Beacon Academy. She also remembers how abysmal he was in his exams, especially in her Combat Class. Due to his lack in training, he never once won a match. He didn't even manage to take out one third of any of his opponents Aura.

Weiss nods her head with a victorious smirks on her face, much to Ruby's annoyance. "See. Even Ms. Goodwitch agrees with me."

Ozpin on the other hand isn't so willing to deny Ruby's statement like Weiss and Glynda. _"The time in which Jaune Arc was expelled and the Freelancers appearing does match up, give or take a few months" _thought Ozpin, folding his fingers together as he thinks about the possibilities of Jaune actually being the Freelancer General. _"While he didn't possess the training like the other students, he did have potential to become powerful. His strategic mind could have also played a big part in becoming a General as well." _

The more he thinks about it, the bigger the possibility that Jaune Arc might actually be the General of the Freelancers. Ruby wouldn't lie to them, especially about something like this.

"Ms. Rose."

Ruby stops he bickering with Weiss to turn back to Ozpin who looks at her with a serious expression on his face.

"I want you to tell me _**everything **_and don't hold anything back."

**( Mother of Invention - General's Office ) **

Jaune is looking over several mission reports on his desk before he hears someone knock on the other side of his door. "Come in" he called, continuing to look over the papers as someone walks into his office. He has no fear of possible assassins, since the _Mother of Invention _is literally impossible to sneak into with their state of the art security system. The hundreds of highly trained and heavily armed soldiers make for a good safety measure as well.

"So you're still wasting away behind a desk?"

Jaune looks up from his desk to see a Freelancer in a pitch black suit of Mjolnir armour. From the bulk of the suit, many would think that it's a man underneath it, but they would be proven wrong since the Freelancer has already taken off their helmet, revealing the face of a young woman with long black hair that's tied in a ponytail. Smirking, Jaune drops the mission report in his hand and leans back against his chair. "Someone has the keep everything afloat and I don't see you volunteering."

The Freelancer laughs. "And waste away behind a desk like you? No chance" she answered, dropping her helmet on one of the nearby chairs.

Jaune stands up from his chair and offers a handshake which the Freelancer accepts. "Welcome back, Texas."

"It's good to be back, General."

**( Texas - Red Vs Blue )**

"Seeing as you're alive and well, I take it your mission in Vacuo was a success." Jaune asked, sitting back down. He has no worries of Texas failing her mission since she is his very best Freelancer. In fact, she has a perfect mission record with absolutely no failures whatsoever. Not even Locus has such a perfect record, but that would be mostly because of Felix messing up on one of their missions.

Texas nods with a smirk on her face. "White Fang outpost has been destroyed. Obviously, there were no survivors."

"Good. Did you find any new info about their upcoming operations?"

"I interrogated the outpost leader for information. He didn't know much, but he did admit that the High Leader has tasked all White Fang Cells to move operations closer to Vale" answered Texas, frowning as she recalls the information the bloody and blubbering White Fang terrorist gave her before she blew his brains out.

Jaune frowns as well as he thinks about the White Fang. His contacts hasn't failed in noticing the White Fang's increasing violence, especially after they've attempted to attack a few towns and villages under his protection. However, he doubts that it's a coincidence that each settlement they've attacked has a Dust mine. His contacts have also reported an increasing number of Dust thefts in Vale. "The White Fang are getting bolder. With their search for Dust, I fear that they're readying themselves for a war."

"There's more, sir" continued Texas. "At the outpost, I found out that the White Fang have been gathering Grimm in cages. The outpost leader mentioned that it was for an operation near Vale. I tried to get more details out of him, but that's all he knew." After breaking his nose and dislodging several teeth, Texas could only agree that the terrorist knew nothing else. "It's obvious that only the White Fang higher-ups know about the upcoming operation."

Breathing through his nose, Jaune closes his eyes to think. After a moment of silence, he opens his eyes and folds his fingers across his chest. "White Fang closing in on Vale. Dust robberies increasing in Vale. Collecting Grimm for a secret operation near Vale. Everywhere we turn, Vale appears to be in the epicentre of all of it."

"What should we do?" asked Texas, ready and able to continue the fight with the White Fang.

Before Jaune can reply, the doors to his office open once more, revealing Adam. "Ah, Adam. I take it Ms. Rose made it back to Beacon in one piece?"

Adam smirks in amusement. "She did. I can't say the same thing about Octane who's currently suffering from a concussion."

Jaune blinks in surprise. He knows of Octane going with Adam to Beacon, but how could the adrenaline junkie get a concussion from a simple drop off mission? Scratch that, the fool blew up his own legs in a race by using a grenade of all things to give him a speed boost. "Do I need to know?"

"No, you do not" answered Adam before turning towards Texas. "Welcome back, Texas. Seeing as there's still no scratches on that armour of yours, I take that the mission was another flawless success?"

"Was there any doubts?" asked Texas with a cocky smirk.

"No, but a man can dream" replied Adam before turning back to the General. "Not to interrupt, but the Headmaster of Beacon Academy has offered a proposal for the Freelancers as a whole."

Jaune quirks a brow as Texas narrows her eyes towards Adam. "A proposal? From Ozpin?"

Adam nods and offers the file he has been holding in his hand. "All the necessary information is in that file" he answered.

Jaune takes the offered file and for the next few minutes, he spends his time reading it with Texas and Adam standing in silence. After rereading the file for a third time, Jaune looks back up at his Commander, trying to hide his surprise. "Is this for real?"

Adam nods, understanding his General's surprised response. What the Headmaster of Beacon is offering is nothing but bizarre. "Yes sir. Everything in the file is one hundred percent accurate."

"Is someone going to clue me in on the secrets or what?" asked Texas, impatiently.

Jaune looks down at the file on his desk. "Ozpin wants to hire the Freelancers to act as security for Vale. Apparently, the Council wants to cancel the upcoming Vytal Festival in fear of attacks from White Fang and the Grimm" he explained, puzzling over what the proposal could mean for him and the Freelancers.

"Is he serious? Hiring the Freelancers for security?" asked Texas in disbelief.

"While an odd turn of events, it could prove useful in getting income" stated Adam. "Such a large operation would require a large payment from the Vale Council. That money could be invested wisely for the Freelancers improvement, such as Project Titan."

Jaune can't disagree with his Commander. _Project Titan _is still in the developing stage because of resources being focused elsewhere, but a large payment of Lien could be what's needed to get it off the ground.

"Sir, what's your decision?" asked Adam, waiting for a response from the General.

"Tell them no. Ozpin and his crew can deal with the problem themselves" told Texas, showing no sympathy for them. "And so what if the Vytal Festival is cancelled? It'll save them the time and resources to supply the whole thing."

"We'll do it."

Adam nods in understanding while Texas looks at Jaune in surprise. "Sir?"

Jaune stands up from his desk and turns to look out his window. "The White Fang are focusing their sights on Vale. The Vyta Festival would be the perfect chance for the White Fang to plan an assault, especially with visitors coming to Vale from all over Remnant" he stated. The White Fang have never been afraid of igniting violence, but they've never attempted something as big as attacking an entire Kingdom. "It would certainly explain why the White Fang are capturing Grimm all of a sudden and I don't think Vale's recent string of Dust store robberies are coincidental either."

Where Adam appears to agree with Jaune, Texas doesn't seem as eager. "Then wouldn't it be better if we didn't take the job? If they can't get the manpower to supply security, then the Vytal Festival will end up cancelled. The White Fang won't have any reason to attack Vale."

Jaune turns away from the window to look at his two best Freelancers. "The White Fang never need a reason to do what they do, Texas. They won't care if the Vytal Festival goes on or not. As long as they get to kill as many Humans as they can, it doesn't matter" he explained, hoping to shine some light for Texas.

As much as Texas doesn't like the idea of acting as security for Vale, she can't deny her General's words of wisdom. The White Fang are bloodthirsty enough to attack Vale, one way or another. The only reason they'll wait for the Vytal Festival to begin will be because of the large amount of visitors coming from the other Kingdoms.

Jaune turns to his Commander and nods. "Inform Ozpin that we'll accept the job. Under our conditions."

"And what are these conditions, sir?"

**( Beacon - Ozpin's Office )**

It took nearly a whole hour for Ruby to finish her recollection of her time spent with the Freelancers in their airship, _Mother of Invention. _

Once she finished, Ozpin dismisses Team RWBY so he can go over the new pieces of information. Glynda has left as well, having to correct some exam papers from her new batch of First Years. Now alone in his office, Ozpin leans against his desk and links his fingers together.

Ruby has unknowingly provided Ozpin with information he has been searching after for the past ten years. Now, he has an estimate in the amount of soldiers the Freelancers have, their type of weaponry, their advanced technology, their training, as well as their skill set.

From what he has learnt, the Freelancers possess technology that surpasses that of Atlas tech, much to his disbelief. Their most impressive piece of technology seems to be their Mjolnir suits which provides the user with enhanced strength, enhanced speed, enhanced durability and even the ability to fly. And it turns out that every single Freelancer seems to have a suit of their own. What has Ozpin interested is the fact that Jaune Arc is the one who's supposedly responsible for creating the technologically advanced suits of armour.

After going over old reports in the Beacon Archive, Ozpin finds Jaune's old exam papers from his first month in Beacon. As expected, most of his exam results are either marked as failures or having been just barely enough to pass. That is until Ozpin looks over Jaune's scores for Strategy & Tactics and Mechanical Maintenance which shows that he actually earned high scores. Ozpin is honestly surprised since Jaune has never shown such intelligence in technology, although it does make sense that he has such a strategic mind. He's Nicholas Arc's son after all.

However, Ozpin is also a little bit weary of the Freelancers. The reason for his weariness is because Ruby has also explained to him that the Freelancers annihilated the Branwen tribe in most of its entirety, leaving Raven as the last remaining member, since Qrow refuses to acknowledge himself as one of them. Such a revelation had not only shocked everyone in the room, but also angered Yang by quite a lot. Not that Ozpin can't understand, seeing as the destruction of her tribe will likely send Raven into deeper hiding. He'll need to send Qrow to make sure that the information is accurate. Ruby has also made it apparent of the brutality shown by the Freelancers after killing all those who surrendered.

_"I wonder, do the Arcs know of their son?" _wondered Ozpin. Before he can contemplate on informing the Arc family of their missing son's survival, an incoming call appears on his desk terminal. Seeing that it's Commander Adam calling, he immediately answers it, showing the holographic image of Adam's stern face. "Commander."

"Headmaster" greeted Adam. "The Freelancers have come to a decision, regarding your proposal."

"And?" asked Ozpin, waiting with bated breath.

"The Freelancers will agree to act as security for the duration of the Vytal Festival-"

"That is excellent news. I'll have to inform the Council immediately" interrupted Ozpin, smiling over the thought of his plan working out. With the Freelancers in Vale, he'll have no better chance to study the soldiers. If he deems it wise, he'll invite their General into a meeting and inform him of Salem and her cohorts. If Jaune truly is their General, it shouldn't take much convincing to get an alliance with the Freelancers, especially with the approval of Team RWBY and the remains of Team (J)NPR. While Jaune may hold some resentment towards them for having him expelled from Beacon Academy, he has always been someone to help out those who need it.

Once he sees the bigger picture, Ozpin is positive that Jaune will help them with their war with Salem.

"-but!" interrupted Adam, disliking having been interrupted in the first place. "We have conditions."

Ozpin looks at the holographic screen and frowns. "What conditions?"

"First off, the price for hiring the Freelancers won't be cheap. Our price is twenty million Lien" told Adam, making sure his tone suggests that there is no negotiating with the price.

Ozpin winces when he hears the price. "Twenty million? That's a little steep, don't you think?"

Adam doesn't look pleased with Ozpin's response. "Headmaster, you are asking to hire a private military to safeguard an entire city. As I'm sure you're aware of, if Ms. Rose hasn't already explained it to you, but the Freelancers safeguards many frontier towns within the Grimmlands. Asking us to protect Vale for the duration of the Vytal Festival will waste resources and manpower which could be used for better reasons" explained Adam, surprising Ozpin by the blatant lack of respect for the Kingdom of Vale. "And I'm not sure if you know this, but the General likes to provide his soldiers with a stable income. There's also the fact that by accepting your proposal, we won't be able to take any other missions during the duration of protecting the Kingdom. Want me to go on?"

Ozpin shakes his head. "No need. I believe I've got the gist. As for your payment, I'll have to discuss it with the Council, but I'm sure it'll be handled."

"Good" nodded Adam. "Secondly, cooperation. Once we accept the job, I expect the full cooperation of both the Vale Police Department and all Hunters that are within the city. We Freelancers take our jobs very seriously so when we arrive in Vale, I want it to be made clear that we will the ones running the defence of the city, both inside and out. Got it?"

Ozpin thinks for a moment, knowing that request might cause problems. Not for the Council or the VPD as they'll understand that it's just the Freelancers doing their job. It's the Hunter side that might cause problems. Over the years, Hunters have grown to believe that they're above the law, especially the recent graduates of Beacon Academy. Many of them forget that while they do get certain privileges, they are still required to follow the law of the Kingdom. This includes not causing damage to public property, although many of them forget this. Sadly, Team RWBY is one of said teams that tends to go overboard when fighting inside the Kingdom walls.

"Agreed. Anything else?"

"As a matter of fact, there is."


	4. Arrival

**Author's Note: Asking me to update a story doesn't update it any faster. **

**Enjoy.**

**xXx**

Pyrrha Nikos looks out the window of the Bullhead she's riding and sighs, feeling the stress of her complicated life build up on her shoulders.

Sometimes, she wishes for the good old days where she was only known as the _Invincible Girl. _Sadly, those days have long since passed. Ever since she graduated from Beacon Academy and became a full-time Huntress, her popularity skyrocketed among the public, making them even more unbearable to be around than ever before. If the rumors are to be believed, there are some people who see her as some sort of reborn Goddess, much to her chagrin.

The last thing she wants in her life is a cult revolving around herself.

Her stress levels have only increased over the years as she constantly undertakes Hunter missions, as well as the secret missions that Ozpin assigns her, giving herself very little time to spend on herself. Sadly, that's what she gets for accepting Ozpin's proposal and becoming the Fall Maiden. Or at least, half of the Fall Maiden.

Pyrrha winces, feeling phantom pains from the time Ozpin transferred the Fall Maiden's power from the previous host, Amber, into herself. It turns out that forcefully transferring the Aura of someone else into your own body doesn't make for a pleasant experience. Every second of the transferring process felt like a million sharp needles were being stabbed into her very soul, as well as her body. Thankfully, the process ended as a success and with minimal drawbacks. While she hasn't suffered from a change of personality like Ozpin feared, she has instead gotten the brief memories of the previous Fall Maiden.

Having the memories of someone else isn't pleasant for Pyrrha, especially when the last of Amber's memory is that of her battle with her assailants before one of them forcefully takes half of her Maiden's power, leaving her in a coma. After Ozpin transferred the Maiden's power from Amber to Pyrrha, the former Maiden never woke up again.

Ever since she became the host for the Fall Maiden's power, Ozpin has had her train underneath Beacon, so to master her new abilities. Once she mastered the powers of the Fall Maiden and graduated from Beacon Academy, the Headmaster has had her take missions that benefitted them while also doing damage to Salem, no matter how small that amount of damage actually is.

The only solace in her stressful life as a Huntress, Maiden and operative of Ozpin is that her friends are helping her with the war against Salem.

Turning away from the window, Pyrrha smiles as she looks over at her two teammates who are sitting across from her. Nora has fallen asleep and is leaning her head against Ren's shoulder while the Hunter reads the book in his hand, ignoring the drool dripping onto his shoulder, courtesy of Nora.

Pyrrha shakes her head with a smile and turns back to the window, seeing the city of Vale in the distance.

Seeing the city has Pyrrha sigh, hoping to get a break from doing anymore missions. The Beacon Headmaster has her ragged by taking mission after mission for the fight against Salem. Pyrrha understands that as a Maiden, she can do more damage against Salem and her allies than anyone else, but even she needs a break from all the stress.

_"I just hope nothing too important happened while we were gone" _thought Pyrrha, gazing out at the city of Vale.

**( Beacon Academy - Ozpin's Office )**

"And you agreed to all their terms?" asked Glynda in shock while glaring at Ozpin from across his desk.

Ozpin frowns as he looks at the cup of half finished coffee in his hand. He has been stalling from explaining to Glynda about the conditions he accepted from the Freelancers, but she remains adamant to know everything. "It was the only way for them to accept the contract" replied Ozpin, although he isn't exactly delighted about the conditions he accepted either. After accepting all of the Freelancer terms, the Commander informed Ozpin that they will be bringing their airship to Vale in four days. Those four days has already passed and Ozpin has yet to see the Freelancer airship arrive in Vale.

"The first two conditions aren't what's bothering me" spoke Glynda, glaring at her employer. While the payment is quite large, she can understand where the Freelancers are coming from. Cooperation with everyone in the Kingdom is also a must have. "It's the last term in which you agreed that all Freelancers are to be given complete superiority throughout the duration of the contract. This means they hold higher ranking over the VPD and Hunters. Simply put, they will only answer to the Council."

Ozpin nods, knowing what he agreed to. "I understand, but it was the only way for them to agree."

From her facial expression, Ozpin can tell that Glynda isn't exactly happy to hear his explanation. "Are you honestly expecting the Huntsmen and Huntresses within the city to follow the orders of a group of mercenaries?" she asked in disbelief. Hunters are prideful people and she doubts that any of them will be happy to hear that they must answer to mercenaries of all people.

"Private military" remarked Ozpin, but sips from his coffee cup when he sees Glynda's glare get angrier. "And I'll be calling for a meeting for all Hunters within the city limits so to explain the situation to them. Of course, the General will be with me during the explanation."

Before Glynda can complain anymore about Ozpin's deal with the Freelancers, the elevator door to the office opens, showing the remnants of Team (J)NPR. Immediately, the three Hunters notice the tension within the office. "Did we come at a bad time?" asked Pyrrha, looking between the Vice Headmistress and Headmaster.

Ozpin offers the Huntress a smile, not only happy to see his biggest asset alive and safe, but also because he has been hoping for someone or something to distract Glynda. "Of course not, Ms. Nikos. We were only discussing about the recent changes to the city."

"Recent changes?" asked Ren, raising a brow in curiosity.

"It will be explained to you all later" said Ozpin. "But first, how did your mission go in the north?"

Pyrrha steps ahead of her teammates, having been named Team Leader ever since the expulsion of her partner all those years ago. "Mission was a complete success. We found the Grimm hive settled inside a hollowed out mountain and made sure it couldn't be used by them ever again."

"I blew it up!" cheered Nora, giggling in excitement as she remembers firing grenade after grenade into the Grimm hive. As the mountain was hollowed out by the Grimm, it didn't take long for Nora's explosives to destroy the support structures and bring down the mountain on the hive, killing all the Grimm inside it at the time.

"Good. That will hopefully decrease the amount of Grimm activity coming from the north, or at least slow them down" nodded Ozpin, taking any victory he can in his war with Salem. Having Pyrrha accept the role as Fall Maiden was a boon for Ozpin's side, but even she hasn't been enough to sway the side of war. "As much as I'd like to send you off for another mission, I would prefer to keep you all within the city limits, at least until the Vytal Festival comes to a close."

Nora's grin widens as she starts hopping up and down in place. "The Vytal Festival is happening!?"

Ozpin nods, having explained the situation with the Freelancers to the Council. While his relationship with the Council isn't good, especially in the recent times, they reluctantly agreed to give the private military a chance. Not even they can deny the advantages to having the Vytal Festival take place, especially when the increase of tourists will also mean an increase of income for the Kingdom. "Indeed it is."

"Hear that, Ren! That means pancake stalls and sloth toys to win" exclaimed Nora in excitement.

Ren sighs, having honestly hoped that the Vytal Festival wouldn't take place. Nora has always been excitable, but events like the Vytla Festival always brings out the worst in her. She becomes more sugar high and excited than ever before and there are moments where he can't even control her anymore.

Pyrrha frowns, finding it surprising that the Council would allow the Vytal Festival to take place, especially with how the Hunters and Vale militia have been spread so thin to fight against the growing numbers of Grimm. Before she can ask for more information, she notices a shadowed image in the distance from the office window. "What is that in the distance?" she asked, walking towards the window behind Ozpin. Everyone turns to the window, seeing what has caught the champion's attention.

"My word" gasped Glynda, finding herself in shock from what she is seeing.

The Beacon Headmaster spins his seat around so he can look out his window and his eyes widens at the sight. "It appears the Freelancers have finally arrived."

Everyone in the office can only watch as the biggest airship they have seen in their lives flies ever so closer to the city of Vale.

**( Beacon - Courtyard )**

Everyone from the civilians in Vale to the Hunters-in-training in Beacon are currently staring up into the sky to look at the large airship that's hovering high in the air. Protecting the airship are over a dozen heavily armed Bullheads which are flying around the airship in all angles.

Standing in front of the Beacon Academy statue that is in the courtyard, Team RWBY stare up at the large airship with their mouths agape and their eyes widened.

"That is one big airship" whistled Yang, pretending that her jaw isn't on the floor.

Weiss widens her eyes at the sight of the massive airship. "It's twice the size of an Atlesian airship, if not bigger!" she exclaimed in shock. How the Freelancers get the resources and manpower to make such a massive airship without any of the Kingdoms knowledge is beyond surprising and incredible. _"Does Winter know about this?" _

"I've never seen an airship designed like that" spoke Blake, having never seen an airship with such a blocky design before as they usually have smooth curves to make them look nicer to the public eye. She has also never seen one to be so big or to have so many cannons attached to it. _"That kind of firepower could wipe out scores of Grimm in seconds." _

Ruby is also in awe of the airship, but she also notices that the front of the airship seems to be designed differently than the rest of it. It's almost like it has a... _"I-Is t-that a c-cannon?" _she thought, hoping that she's wrong for once in her life. Being an expert in weaponry, she can tell that the front of the airship is designed with what looks to be a cannon of sorts and from the size of it, Ruby can estimate that the power of it could wipe out the city if it was ever used on it.

Knowing that there's an airship with such a deadly weapon doesn't ease to nervous bubbling in Ruby's stomach.

"Mother of Invention" muttered Blake, reading the words that are painted on the side of the airship. "That's the airship you stayed on, wasn't it, Ruby?"

"It is" nodded Ruby, watching the large airship hover in the air. _"And if that's here, than that means Jaune's here as well." _she thought, remembering Dr. Grey mention how Jaune is the one who runs the airship himself.

Ruby shakes herself out of her thoughts when she sees three Bullheads fly out of the hanger bay of the _Mother of Invention._ Knowing that they'll land on Beacon, she runs off towards the direction of the Bullhead docks, much to the surprise of her teammates.

"Ruby, where are you going!" yelled Weiss, running after her teammate with Blake and Yang running right after them.

**( Beacon - Bullhead Docks )**

Having used her Semblance, Ruby arrives by the docks, just in time to see the three Bullheads land beside one another. She watches the Bullheads doors open and sees Jaune step out of the middle one with four Freelancers following behind him. From the other two Bullheads steps out eight fully armoured and armed Freelancers, each. Of course, the sight of the unknown soldiers has the Beacon employees, students and Hunters a tad nervous.

_"Nothing has changed" _thought Jaune, smiling as he takes in surroundings while he steps out of the Bullhead. Following behind him is North, South, Washington and Locus with each one holding onto their respective weapons.

Obviously, Jaune doesn't miss out on the attention his Freelancers and himself are getting from the nearby locals. Neither does he miss how the Beacon students and professional Hunters are glancing at them while keeping their hands on their respective weapons.

_"As long as they keep to themselves and don't start anything, there won't be any trouble" _he thought, ignoring them while awaiting for the arrival of the Headmaster. He'll need to look over the contract that employs the services of his Freelancers for the protection of Vale. If there aren't any mistakes or problems with the contract, he'll sign it and then call for a brief meeting for all Hunters in the Kingdom so he can inform them of his Freelancers taking over control of security for the city until the time in which the Atlas military arrives and take over the role for them.

As Ruby watches the Freelancers from a distance, the rest of her team manages to catch up. "Finally! What did I tell you about running off on your own?" exclaimed Weiss, wanting an explanation from her partner for why she ran off. Yet, Ruby ignores her like as if she's not even here! "Hey! I'm talking to you."

"Um, Weiss" spoke Blake, tapping the Schnee on her shoulder. Once Weiss turns to the Faunus, Blake points in the direction of Ruby's sight. Weiss follow's Blake's finger and once she sees what has everyone's attention, her skin gets noticeably paler than usual. "'Looks like the Freelancers are already here" muttered the Faunus, recognizing the Freelancer symbol that's displayed on the armoured shoulders of the men and women. She can see why they can cause the SDC so much trouble, if their advanced weaponry and armour is anything to go by. _"I've never seen technology like that before" _she thought.

Yang whistles, looking impressed with the sight. "They've got some nifty armour" said Yang, having already seen four armoured Freelancers before, but not so many in different varieties. While looking over the Freelancers, she doesn't miss the one individual who isn't adorning a set of advanced power armour. "Who's that?" she asked, pointing at the blonde scarred man who's leading the pack of soldiers.

Ruby doesn't so much as blink when she answers. "That's the Freelancer General. In other words, Jaune."

Blake's brows quickly begin to rise, Weiss's jaw soon drops to the floor and Yang blinks, looking to be struggling with something in her head.

After a moment of awkward silence, Weiss cries out in disbelief. "You can't be serious. There is no possible way on Remnant that he's the doofus!" she exclaimed, pointing a finger towards the blonde man. Jaune Arc is weak, lanky and inexperienced. A complete opposite to the strong, muscular and hardened man she sees before her.

Yang shakes her head, denying Ruby's claim as well. "Sorry sis, but I just can't see it." She looks back at the General and narrows her eyes which turn red for a second. _"But if he is the one who attacked Raven's tribe, then I'll have to have a __**word **__with him" _she thought, angry over the thought of having her estranged mother go into deeper hiding. All the clues and searches for her mother's whereabouts are now pointless, since they mainly focused on the movement of the Branwen tribe. With the tribe decimated, she'll have an even tougher time to find her mother and she can only blame the Freelancers for the cause.

Having sharper eyes than both Weiss and Yang, Blake notices something hanging off of the man's hip. "Guys, do you see what's hanging off his hip?"

Ruby, Weiss and Yang look at the General and see what Blake is talking about. They see a long white object hanging off the side of the man's hip and it doesn't take long for them to recognize it as a blade. "It's a sword, so what?" asked Yang, seeing nothing of interest from the weapon.

Blake rolls her eyes over her partner's blindness. "Great observation, Yang" she groaned, ignoring Yang who sticks out her tongue. "But did you notice that the blade looks very similar to the one Jaune had when in Beacon?"

Weiss focuses her eyes on the man's blade, but when he slightly turns to the left, she sees the two golden crescent arc symbol on the sword's sheath. "That can't be" she muttered in disbelief, recognizing the symbol that was on the doofus's equipment, especially on his sword's sheath which could shift into a shield.

Yang turns her head towards the Faunus so fast that Blake sees her blonde locks hit Weiss in the side of her head. "Wait, seriously? The badass looking General is actually vomit boy?"

Ruby ignores her sister's surprise and her partner's cries of disbelief once she sees Ozpin and Glynda walk towards the Freelancer party.

**xXx**

Jaune sees Ozpin and Glynda walk up towards him and noticing a few of his Freelancers tense up, he nods towards their direction to stop them from doing anything. The Freelancers nod back and step away to give the Beacon Headmaster and Vice Headmistress space.

Ozpin and Glynda stop a few feet away from the Freelancers, providing enough room to speak while also giving themselves enough room to move if a fight might break out. Ozpin highly doubts it, but with how everything has been going downhill for him lately, he doesn't want to take any chances. "I'll admit, I didn't expect to see you again, Mr. Arc. Especially in these... special circumstances" spoke Ozpin, showing a smile. While he appears to be calm, he's actually surprised over his former student's shocking change of appearance. _"He has grown in more ways than one." _

Jaune offers the Headmaster a small smirk. "Special is one way to put it. As much as I'd like to get into pleasantries, I would rather prefer to get down to business."

_"Just like the Commander" _thought Ozpin, noting that Jaune likes to skip pleasantries as well. The same can be said for James so he guesses that it's just something that military men do. "Of course. If you follow me to my office, I can show you the contract that the Council has written up" he said before turning and walking back to his office.

Glynda turns around as well, but stops to look at Jaune who stares back. A few seconds pass by as the former student and Vice Headmistress study one another before Glynda follows after Ozpin without saying a word to each other.

Ignoring the stare off he just had with Glynda, Jaune looks at his Freelancers from over his shoulders. "Washington and Locus, with me" he ordered before following after Ozpin with the two Freelancers behind him. The rest of the Freelancers soon spread out around the Bullheads, watching everyone and making sure that nobody tries something against them.

**xXx**

After being asked by Ozpin to wait in his office until he comes back, Pyrrha spends her time making small talk with her two teammates. After several minutes of chatting with Ren and Nora, she turns to the elevator door which opens, signalling the return of the Headmaster. While she's none too surprised to see Glynda as she is Ozpin's second-in-command, she's definitely surprised when she sees a tall blonde haired man follow after them with two unknown soldiers behind him. Studying the unknown individual, Pyrrha frowns in thought. _"He seems familiar." _

Jaune takes in the scenery, seeing no changes done to the Headmaster's office in the ten years that he has last been in the room. Jaune smiles in thought. _"I wonder what would have happened to me if I wasn't expelled." _He has always wondered what would have happened if Cardin didn't reveal his fake transcripts, but he has accepted that fact a long time ago. Besides, he knows that he wouldn't be able to save or protect as many lives as he does now as the Freelancer General than he would have as a professional Huntsman.

As Ozpin takes his seat and Glynda takes her spot by his side, Pyrrha and her teammates look between the Headmaster and the unknown men with curiosity etched on their faces.

Finally, it's Ren who decides to ask the question. "Headmaster, who are these men and what are they doing here?"

Ozpin doesn't look at Ren, preferring to keep his eyes on Jaune and see his reaction to reuniting with his former teammates. He has expected the former Beacon student to react in some manner of surprise or even joy in reuniting with his teammates after so long. Instead, he sees the Freelancer General glance at the three Hunters in the office with indifference. _"I may have overestimated his bond with his former teammates. He was only with them for a month after all" _he thought with a small frown on his face. _"Still, that doesn't mean he can't reconnect with them overtime."_

Seeing as Ozpin is too distracted to answer Ren's question, Glynda decides to do it herself. "This man here is the General of the private military force, the Freelancers. The reason he is here is because the Council has agreed to allow the Freelancer to take over the role of security for the Kingdom during the majority of the Vytal Festival." The three Hunters look surprised by her answer, but she decides to drop the bomb on them now so to get it over with. "You may also remember him as your former teammate during your first month at attending Beacon, Jaune Arc."

Unlike Weiss and Yang, it only takes a second for all three members of Team (J)NPR to remember who Jaune Arc is and they look back at the Freelancer General in surprise and some disbelief.

"This is Jaune?" muttered Pyrrha to herself, remembering her former team leader and partner. She recognizes his blonde hair and blue eyes, but that's all she can recognize. She definitely doesn't remember him having so many scars or even muscles. The cybernetic arm is a bit of a surprise as well, but by looking into her eyes, she sees the most obvious change. Where there was once a naive innocence that could rival Ruby's back in the day, she now sees the eyes of a hardened warrior who has witnessed the horrors of the world, personally.

While Ren studies the Freelancer General and compares him to his former team leader, Nora grins and immediately charges at the General.

A quick hand signal from Jaune stops Locus and Washington from apprehending the incoming Huntress. While Jaune may not remember everything during his month in Beacon, he simply can't forget his former teammates, especially when one of them is the likes of Nora Valkyrie. He remembers her as a physically strong and daring young woman, having no qualms with making risky moves in a fight that could cost her grievous injuries if done wrong. She's also very energetic and loves pancakes as much as Ruby loves cookies.

Jaune grunts as Nora wraps her strong arms around Jaune's torso, trapping his own arms to his sides. She lifts the full grown man off his feet like as if he weighs nothing and starts jumping up and down in joy. _"She's also quite a hugger" _thought Jaune, chuckling over Nora's contagious excitement.

"Fearless leader!" cheered Nora, hugging Jaune like there's no tomorrow. "It's great to have you back!"

"Nice to meet you again, Nora. I see you haven't changed" chuckled Jaune. "And as much as I enjoy your one-of-a-kind hugs, could you please put me down?" Nodding with a smile, Nora places Jaune back on his feet and steps back to take her place on Ren's right.

As Jaune fixes his coat, Washington and Locus glance at each other, wondering who the people are and their connection with their General. It's obvious that the ginger haired woman has a friendly relationship with the General, if the hug is anything to go by, but the male Hunter has only been studying Jaune since they arrived and Nikos has been staring at their General with nothing but surprise etched on her face. They would especially like to know how the General knows the world famous Huntress, Pyrrha Nikos.

Once he fixes his coat, Jaune turns to Ren and smiles. "I see you've let your hair grow since the last time I saw you. It looks good" he complimented his former teammate, noting Ren's longer hair.

Ren smiles over the compliment and nods. "Thank you, Jaune. However, I believe your change is the most surprising."

Jaune nods, understanding his former teammate. He has changed a lot from the naive boy that he was ten years ago. "I guess I can understand that." The General turns from Ren to look at his former teammate and partner, Pyrrha Nikos.

Over the years, Jaune sees that Pyrrha has grown to be quite a beautiful young woman. Jaune won't deny that his former partner was already a beauty ten years ago, but she has become more elegant and mature as time passed by. And from word around Remnant, she has also become the best Huntress in her generation. He has also heard word of a cult that's based off her, but he's sure that's just some stupid rumor. "It has been a long time, Pyrrha" he said, offering his hand for a handshake.

Pyrrha shakes herself out of her stupor and smiles back at her former partner. "Indeed it has, Jaune. I'm happy to see you alive and healthy" she replied, accepting his handshake. It's only when she feels her hand shake his robotic one does she realize her poor choice of words. "Sorry!"

Jaune chuckles as Pyrrha apologizes. "You've got nothing to apologize over. I may have lost my arm, but I've learned from that mistake and became a better man because of it."

Pyrrha sighs and nods her head in acceptance before Jaune turns back to Ozpin. His amused smile fades as a stern visage appears on his face. "Now then, we should get back to business."

Ozpin nods, inwardly delighted to see Jaune isn't as indifferent to his teammates than he thought. "Of course. I have the contract right here" said the Headmaster, pulling a contract out of a drawer from his desk. He plants the contract on the table and pushes it towards Jaune.

Jaune steps forward and takes the contract before he begins to read it, ignoring the two chairs beside him.

_"Do the Freelancers not like chairs?" _wondered Glynda, remembering that Commander Jensen didn't accept a seat either. Looking over the man who was once her student, Glynda widens her eyes when she notices his right eye pupil focus on the contract. _"His eye is bionic!" _she thought in surprise. She can't help but wonder what has happened to the boy who she helped expel from Beacon Academy all those years ago.

With the help of his robotic eye, Jaune scans the contract in its entirety and sees no flaws, secret terms or changes in the contract. Simply put, it contracts the Freelancers to use their manpower and resources to safeguard Vale and its citizens in their entirety. His terms have also been added, providing the Freelancers with full cooperation and superiority over the civilians, Vale Police Deperatment and any Hunters who may be in the city at the time. If there's a lack of cooperation from anyone, they have the full authority of the Vale Council to take custody of the offending party. The contract will only expire if the Freelancers prove to be more of a hindrance to the Kingdom or until the time in which General Ironwood arrives with his own army to take over the role of security for Vale.

Rereading the contract two more times, Jaune nods in satisfaction. "Everything appears to be in order."

Ozpin offers the General a pen to sign his name on the contract. Jaune accepts the pen and signs his initials onto the contract, therefore promising the services of the Freelancers to the role of protecting the city and its citizens. Giving the contract back to the Headmaster, Jaune turns back around and steps towards his Freelancers who are waiting by the elevator door. "The Freelancers that arrived with me will be stationed here for the entirety of the Vytal Festival."

Glynda frowns at the back of Jaune. "The festivities for the Vytal Festival won't begin for another two weeks. Besides, there is no need to have the Freelancers in the boundaries of Beacon. We can protect ourselves just fine" she protested.

Jaune turns back around and shakes his head, showing neither annoyance or grief towards the Vice Headmistress of Beacon. "I'm sure that you can protect yourselves just fine, Ms. Goodwitch, but it's not Beacon I'm worried about."

Glynda raises a brow in curiosity. "Than what's the security detail for?"

"The CCT" Jaune answered, seeing the understanding slowly appear in Glynda's eyes. "Since the CCT is the main source of communication for everyone in Vale, it is only reasonable that I place a security detail around it."

"Understandable" replied Ren, understanding Jaune's reasoning. If the CCT were to fall for any reason, Vale would have no way to spread word of an attack to the other Kingdoms. It would only make sense for any attackers to take down the city's main source of communication first, so to cause mass confusion and destruction.

Seeing as no more needs to be spoken, Ozpin clicks a button on his desk terminal, sending out a message to all Scrolls that are owned by a Huntsman or Huntress in Vale. "I've just spread word to all Hunters within Beacon and Vale. They should all be arriving within the hour so if you want to prepare for what you want to say to them, you should do so now" he informed Jaune who shakes his head.

"There's no need for any preparation. I'll simply inform the Hunters that the Freelancers will be the ones in control of Vale during the duration of our stay here and how we'll be expecting their complete cooperation. Nothing more and nothing less."

Pyrrha, Ren and Nora look surprised to hear that from Jaune. "Excuse me for asking, but I thought the Freelancers were simply acting as security for the Vytal Festival?" asked Pyrrha, wanting to shed some light on the subject.

Ozpin answers for the Fall Maiden. "While that is true, the Council has also provided the Freelancers with superiority over everyone else in Vale. This means that until James arrives with his Atlesian army, the Freelancers will be practically running the show in Vale."

"So the Hunters must follow the commands of the Freelancers?" asked Ren, already thinking of ten Hunters who won't like the sound of that. Yang and Weiss so happens to be on that list. Personally, he has no problems following orders from the Freelancers, especially if Jaune is the one leading them. Still, he'd like to get the full story on how Jaune became the General of an entire military at such a young age.

Preferably from the man himself.

"Within reason" said Ozpin, looking at Jaune as he says this.

Jaune doesn't respond, but he does offer the Beacon Headmaster an understanding nod. Other than himself, Adam and a few select individuals, no other Freelancer will have any say or power to command anyone from Vale, wither they be civilian, police or Hunters.

"If that is all, I'll take my leave for now and inform the Freelancers by the docks of the news. They'll station themselves by the CCT within the hour" informed Jaune before heading back towards the elevator. Locus and Washington wait for him to enter before following in after him.

It's only when the elevator door closes does Pyrrha turn to Ozpin. "Many Hunters won't like this, sir."

Ozpin sighs and rubs his forehead. "I know. I just hope they don't do anything too stupid."

**xXx**

Within the hour, all the Huntsmen and Huntresses in the city of Vale arrive at Beacon. None of them are willing to refuse the call from Ozpin, seeing as all of them were once students of his during their attendance in Beacon Academy.

"Do any of you guys know what's going on?" asked Ruby, stepping into Beacon's amphitheatre alongside her teammates. She looks around the amphitheatre and sees many familiar faces of Huntsmen and Huntresses that she sometimes works with on missions.

Yang shrugs her shoulders. "No clue. I was tuning up Bumblebee when I got the message."

Blake looks around the room and frowns. "Looks like every Hunter in the city is here" she said, noticing a few missing Hunters, but she guesses that they're on missions at the moment.

"I'm guessing this has to do with our new guests" stated Weiss, having seen a few Freelancers hanging around the entrance of the CCT. She doesn't know what they're doing at Beacon Academy and she isn't willing to ask them why. Usually, nothing can frighten the cold and fearless heart of Weiss Schnee, but when she's dealing with the Freelancer military, she would prefer to fight Pyrrha Nikos one-on-one than to antagonize the military which has been causing trouble for her family's company. If the rumors she hears are true, they're also not afraid to deal with the White Fang either.

Before Ruby can respond to her partner, she sees Pyrrha and her team walking over. "Pyrrha!" she called, waving a hand at the redhead.

Pyrrha smiles at the energetic leader of Team RWBY and waves back. "Hello, Ruby."

"P-Money, you got any idea on what Oz called us here for?" Yang asked Pyrrha, knowing that the redhead is closer to Ozpin than any of them, due to her being one half of the Fall Maiden. She's sure that Ozpin has probably told Pyrrha stuff that few in their secret group actually knows about.

Before Pyrrha can answer Yang, they see Ozpin step onto the stage with his cane on hand and stops in front of the microphone. The moment the Headmaster appears, everyone quiets down and waits for Ozpin to speak. This shows the respect each Hunter has for the Beacon Headmaster.

"Former students of mine, I thank you all for coming to my behest. I know that many of you have returned from missions and are tired so I want to keep this brief." Ozpin looks around and sees that he has everyone's attention. Turning to his right, he nods to Jaune who's standing outside of everyone's sight, giving the General the signal to walk up to the stage. "As many of you have likely heard, the Council has recently deemed it necessary to host the Vytal Festival this year, no matter of the current dangers that lurk outside our walls."

The announcement that the Vytal Festival is taking place has the Hunters cheer in excitement for the upcoming event. They have already heard the news that the festival was happening and that the festivities would begin in two weeks time. Although, some Hunters are curious over who the scarred man beside Ozpin is.

Ozpin waits for silence before continuing. "At the moment, Vale lacks the means to uphold law and order within the city during such an important event which will attract the attention of those whose ideologies are good and bad. That is why the Council has agreed to solve this problem by upholding a partnership with the private military force, the Freelancers. The Freelancers will provide the necessary manpower and resources to combat those who hope to do damage to Vale, both outside and inside its walls. Freelancer General, Jaune Arc will now step forward to speak a few words." The Beacon Headmaster steps to the side so to allow Jaune access to the microphone.

However, the moment Jaune steps to the microphone, the Hunters begin to make a lot of noise, either questioning Ozpin with the decision to hiring the Freelancers or to simply annoy and be rude to the Freelancer General who looks no older than them.

"Well, this is going nowhere" deadpanned Weiss, folding her arms across her chest. She's positive that if the idiotic Hunters around her knew who they were insulting and knew what kind of power he possesses, they wouldn't be so quick to act like animals.

Pyrrha frowns as she looks at her fellow Hunters in the room, feeling nothing but disappointment. "This is just rude."

"Not surprising" stated Ren. "Hunters are prideful folks. They don't exactly like having to request the help of someone else, especially those from a private military."

Ruby ignores the growing noise from the surrounding Huntsmen and Huntresses as she keeps her vision on Jaune who doesn't appear annoyed or even amused by the Hunters. All of a sudden, a chill creeps up her spine and from the way she sees her friends tense up beside her, she isn't the only one who feels it.

All at once, the loud Hunters grow silent as a pressure of sorts drops on their shoulders. It's neither an overbearing pressure or a bloodthirsty one, but it's not a comfortable one either as it's making many of the experienced Hunters squirm in place.

It doesn't take long for the Hunters to find where the source of the pressure is coming from and each one looks up at the stage, staring up into the cold eyes of Jaune Arc. Each Hunter soon realize that they can't tear their eyes away from his own, feeling as if there are a pair of invisible hands which are holding their heads in place. For every second they stare into his eyes, the longer they feel like he's stripping all their secrets from their souls.

After a moment of breathless silence, Jaune speaks. "Now that I have your attention..."

Every Hunter in the room regains full control over their bodies again and shakes themselves out of their stupor. However, none try to underestimate the General again and they all remain quiet to listen to Jaune's words, although nobody has the nerve to look at him in the eyes again.

"I'll make this quick and to the point. Through the signed agreement between the Freelancers and the Vale Council, we will station ourselves within Vale to keep the peace during the time in which the Vytal Festival takes place. During this time, the Freelancers will take over the security of Vale in every sense of the word. The Council has also agreed to grant the Freelancers superiority over all law enforcements and Hunters within the city. Therefore, no Hunter or police officer can move on any criminal activity unless given the order by a commanding Freelancer or if deemed completely necessary."

A few Hunters in the amphitheatre look to make an argument, but another cold glare from Jaune stops them in their tracks. After making a few seconds of eye contact with them, Jaune continues.

"You may continue to accept missions outside of the city, but once you're inside those walls, you're under the jurisdiction of the Freelancers. Anyone who attempts to cause trouble or make any movements that weren't authorized by a commanding Freelancer, you'll be placed under arrest and remain in containment until further notice.

Jaune looks around the amphitheatre and makes eye contact with everyone, only lingering on Team RWBY and (J)NPR for an extra second longer. "That is all." Sure that his message has been sent, Jaune walks off the stage from the side, ignoring the many eyes on him, including the curious eyes of Ozpin.

Shaking out of her stupor, Ruby let's out the breath she didn't know she was holding in. "That was intense" she muttered, but everyone hears her.

"You're telling me. I thought I was going to freeze under that glare of his" stated Ren, feeling like the room temperature has gone colder than it was before he entered it.

"Fearless leader has changed a lot" pouted Nora, having frozen up like everyone else when he looked her in her eyes.

Pyrrha gulps, having been especially effected by Jaune's piercing eyes. She had only looked into his eyes for a few seconds, but it felt like he was seeing straight into her soul, reading every dirty secret she holds.

Noticing a certain missing person from their group, Blake feels her ears twitch. "Guys, where did Yang go?"

**xXx**

Jaune is walking through one of the many empty hallways of Beacon Academy when he suddenly stops and turns around. "You can come out. I know you're there."

Five seconds of silence passes by before Yang Xiao-Long steps out of the corner of the hallway, glaring at Jaune with her eyes turning red for a moment.

Jaune raises a brow, wondering what has the Huntress so angry at him for. Finding out that a private military holds more power over them in their own city probably has her mad, but not enough to make it look like she wants to punch his face in. Although, from what he remembers all those years ago, it doesn't take much to anger Yang enough to make her like that._ "She never did have a good hold on her temper." _

Yang glares at the man who has completely ruined her long search for her wayward mother and clenches her hands into fists.

"Fight me."

Page 13 of 13


	5. Tension

**Enjoy. **

**xXx**

**( Beacon Academy ) **

Jaune furrows his brows in thought, failing to recall why Yang of all people is demanding a fight from him. Last time he checked, he has never actually interacted with her, wither it be in the present or from ten years in the past. _"Maybe she's angry because the Hunters must follow Freelancer orders from now on" _he thought, but quickly considers that unlikely. As temperamental as she is, she can't be stupid enough to pick a fight with him over something like that, especially when she now knows his position among the Freelancers. An attack on this person is a literal death sentence.

"May I ask why?" he asked, ignoring how Locus and Washington tense up in front of him. Not that he blames them as his Freelancers take their assignments very seriously. If Yang attacks, he has full confidence that Washington and Locus can apprehend and kill her. Washington may be a recent member of the Freelancers, but he has proven to be a very skilled fighter. Locus is also one of his best Freelancers and while he does specialize in long-range combat, he is also very skilled in hand-to-hand combat. Other than Carolina, Adam and himself, he is the only other person who can give Texas an actual challenge in a fist fight which is an accomplishment in itself.

"Does there have to be a reason?" Yang remarked in a snarky manner.

"There should be, seeing as you are openly threatening a military General who has been tasked with safeguarding this city" replied Jaune, evenly. Ten years ago, he would be cowering in fear from Yang and her violent demeanor, but not anymore. What's to fear from one emotional Huntress when he has seen the true horrors that lurks beyond the safety of Vale's walls.

Throughout their interaction, Yang's teammates and friends manage to catch up with her, but they make sure to keep a safe distance when they notice the thick tension in the air.

"What's going on?" whispered Nora, wondering why Yang looks like she's on the verge of ripping Jaune-Jaune apart. _"Did he steal her pancakes?" _she thought while gasping in horror. If so, she won't stop Yang for acting out justice against the pancake thief!

Weiss scowls and glares at the back of her teammate's head. "Yang's being an idiot, that's what!" Seriously, has she not explained to Yang about the seriousness of pissing off the Freelancers?! Yang is definitely a skilled Huntress, there's no denying that, but not even she can hope to fight an entire military on her own. Ruby and Blake might be dumb enough to fight alongside her, but Weiss will have none of it. She enjoys being alive, thank you very much.

Yang ignores everyone else as she focuses her attention and rage on Jaune. "You ruined everything" growled Yang, clenching her fists before taking a threatening step forward.

Immediately, Locus and Washington step in front of Jaune with their weapons aimed at Yang who doesn't look bothered by having a Battle Rifle and a Sniper Rifle aimed at her person.

Seeing their teammate and friend under threat of being shot, most of Yang's friends move to her side with their weapons at the ready. Of course, not everyone is as willing to go to war with a whole military which currently holds superiority over them in the Kingdom. As such, Ren, Weiss and surprisingly, Ruby remains standing a distance away from behind their fellow Hunters, hoping that their friends won't do anything stupid like actually attacking Jaune.

_"Idiots!" _thought Weiss, hating how she has to be the smart one in her team. With just Jaune and two Freelancers, Weiss is confident that the larger numbers of Yang, Pyrrha, Blake and Nora can defeat them, but brute strength will not be enough to grant them any sort of victory. Not when they are threatening to attack the General of an army which is literally standing outside their doorstep!

The sight of the Hunters so easily threatening him has Jaune clench the bridge of his nose in annoyance. _"I can already tell that they are going to cause me trouble in the near future" _he thought, knowing that this won't be the first time Hunters will interfere with him and his Freelancers during their stay in Vale. Sighing, Jaune looks up at Yang. "Pray tell, what have I ruined?" he asked, trying to be patient with her, although his patience is starting to fleet fast.

Yang's growls become even more feral as her eyes shift to blood red while her hair gets set aflame. "I have spent years searching for my mother. I was nearly close to finding her too, but then you and your Freelancers showed up and sent her deeper into hiding!" she announced, pointing an accusing finger at Jaune.

Jaune blinks, trying to figure out how his Freelancers play a part in this. "May I ask who your mother is?"

"Raven Branwen."

Jaune's eyes slowly widen upon hearing the name of the _Bandit Queen _before they narrow, dangerously. His warm blue eyes turn as cold as ice, a great contrast to Yang's which are burning hot. Looking at the blonde Huntress up and down, Jaune can definitely see a resemblance between the two women, especially with how Yang's Semblance has made her eyes turn blood red, just like Raven's. If not for the blonde hair, she would be near identical to Raven. "You do understand that your mother is a bandit, right?"

Yang glares at Jaune with fire in her eyes. "I do."

"Then you should understand why I have done what I did" spoke Jaune, folding his arms behind his back. "Her tribe was a menace that needed to be destroyed. They pillaged, raped and killed those who couldn't protect themselves. Some of my own Freelancers fell by her hand and so, I repaid the favour. Knowing this, you're still willing to search for her?"

Yang sucks in a few breaths of air while remaining to keep her glare on Jaune, although it is obvious that she's trying to stay calm. "The reasons I search for Raven are my own" she declared in defiance, feeling no need to explain her reasoning to _Vomit Boy. _

"I see. Since I have already told you of our history with your mother, I don't need to explain to you my reason for wanting to put a bullet in between her eyes" stated Jaune, noting the spike of Aura coming off of Yang. Neither Locus and Washington miss the spike either as their fingers hover over the triggers of their guns. If the Huntress does attack, Jaune will not try to stop his men from gunning her down.

Yang only sees red after hearing Jaune admit that he's intending to kill Raven. While she doesn't care much about Raven's life, she does want to get the answers for the questions she has been wanting to ask for her entire life. She can't very well get her answers if Raven has a bullet put through her skull.

Before she can rush in and punch Jaune in his face, Blake, Nora and Pyrrha quickly grabs a hold onto her, preventing her from taking another step. While willing to defend their friend, they are not going to start a fight with Jaune and his Freelancers because Yang lost herself to her rage. Still, the three Huntresses struggle under Yang's strength which has been boosted by her rage.

"Yang, stand down, now!" ordered Ruby, realizing that her sister is going to do something she will most definitely regret. Noticing her sister continuing to struggle, Ruby steps in front of her sister and glares at her, sternly. "Yang, I will tell you once more. Stand down. Now."

As much as Yang wants nothing more than to bust in Jaune's face so to prevent him from ruining her search even more, Yang slowly manages to calm herself down. Noting Yang's compliance, Pyrrha, Nora and Blake slowly let her go, but they make sure to stand close enough so to grab her in case she tries to attack Jaune again.

"Are you good?" asked Ruby, feeling concerned for her sister. She knows Yang has been searching for her mother for years, but she didn't think she would try to do something as stupid as attacking an actual General. She just hopes Glynda doesn't find out about this or there will be hell to pay!

Closing her eyes, Yang nods before opening them, showing that her eyes have returned to their normal lilac colour. "I'm good" she sighed before glaring back at Jaune, but this one has less fire in it. "But I want him to stay away from me."

Jaune shrugs his shoulders, uncaring about Yang's plight. Unlike his former team and Ruby, he has never actually befriended Yang. The only interactions they ever had was when she teased him about his pursuit for Weiss and to mock him with rude names. "You won't have to worry about that, Ms. Xiao-Long" he answered before turning around to talk away. After a few steps down the hall, he stops and looks over his left shoulder. "Oh, about that challenge for a fight, I'm going to have to decline. Too much on my plate at the moment. I hope you understand."

The casual dismissal of herself has Yang's eyes revert to red for a moment as she glares into the back of Jaune's head.

**( Mother of Invention ) **

Once he dealt with the fiasco in Beacon and informed the Freelancers of their role in guarding the CCT, Jaune returns to the airship to hopefully get some more work done and thankfully, he doesn't mean the paperwork kind. Spending ten years building up the Freelancers to what they are now has given Jaune little to no free time for himself. Thankfully, with Adam running things on the airship today, he now has the free time to finish up his latest personal project.

Having dismissed Washington and Locus, Jaune walks down the hallway which will lead him to his private lab, but stops when he sees a trio of Freelancers walking down the hall in the opposite direction, although he only recognizes one of them. "Clayton! How's my favourite Grimm Killer?" Jaune grinned, referring to the leading Freelancer's title which he earned on a mission gone wrong a year ago.

During transport to the mission location, an attack from Lancers attacked Clayton's Bullhead, forcing the aircraft to crash land in Grimm territory. With Clayton and the pilot being the only survivor, the Freelancer managed to carry the injured pilot towards the nearest Freelancer outpost which was miles away. Having read Clayton's report and watched the footage from his helmet's camera, Jaune knows that Clayton killed Grimm after Grimm in droves. When he ran out of ammo, Clayton used his rifle as a bludgeon weapon and when it got destroyed beyond repair, he began using literal sticks and rocks to kill whatever unfortunate Grimm got in his way. All the while, still carrying the injured pilot who has since then, made a complete recovery. Afterwards, Clayton inscribed the words, _Grimm Killer _onto the chest piece of his suit, signifying the dozens, if not hundreds of Grimm he killed that day.

**( Clayton Carmine - Gears of War )**

Clayton chuckles while rubbing the back of his helmet wearing head. Unlike most of the Freelancers, Clayton's Mjolnir armour is sleeveless, revealing the large muscles that covers his arms. While not the first Freelancer to do such a thing, it does provide the muscular man with a sense of individuality. "I'm good, boss. Just bringing some new recruits to the firing range" he answered, pointing a thumb behind him to the two Freelancer recruits which have been following him.

Jaune looks at the two recruits and notice how their suits of armour have a similar design to that of Clayton's with their helmets having the same glowing blue lenses as well. "Oh? And who are these new recruits of ours?" he asked, smiling at the sight of the two men who are awkwardly holding onto their rifles, obviously having no idea onto how to carry them properly. _"Those were the days" _he thought, remembering in fondness how he use to be a nervous rookie like the two of them.

"These are my younger brothers, sir. This here is Anthony Carmine" introduced Clayton, pointing an arm towards the man on the left before pointing to the one on the right. "And this is Benjamin. They're Green so I'm hoping to bring them up to level before I go on my next patrol mission."

**( Anthony Carmine - Gears of War )**

**( Benjamin Carmine - Gears of War ) **

Jaune nods and offers both rookies handshakes, but chuckles when they awkwardly move their weapons aside to shake his hand. "Welcome to the Freelancers, recruits. I hope your time here is as awarding as it is for everyone else" he welcomed before turning back to the oldest Carmine brother. "Private, I'm hoping to see another pair of Grimm Killers by this time next year."

Clayton laughs as he wraps his muscular arms around the necks of his younger brothers, ignoring the choking gasps from both of them. "I wouldn't go that far, sir. I still have to show them how to properly aim before anything else. Gotta show them how we do things around here."

Jaune nods. "Indeed and I wish you luck on your endeavors. I better be off before Texas or Carolina finds me and demands another spar" he laughed before walking past the Carmine brothers, patting each one on the shoulder as he walks by them. He isn't lying as the pair like to spend their time either training with weaponry or with their hand-to-hand combat skills. He's not sure when they decided, but they believe that there is no better sparring partner than himself, much to his chagrin. He likes a good sparring match, but not from the two women who live and breath fighting. If not for their different hair colour, he would almost think they're related somehow.

"Woah, it's really him" muttered Anthony in awe over meeting the General in person. He has heard many stories about the man and his accomplishments, wither they be about his scientific creations or his skill in the battlefield, but no other story is as amazing as the one of _White Sanctuary. _A Grimm invasion nearly tore apart the town of Twilight, but from multiple eyewitnesses that lived in the frontier town, they all saw a white glow fly overhead before a blinding white light filled the sky. By the time everyone's vision returned, all the Grimm were nothing but dust in the wind and the town was saved.

All because of the General who arrived in his personal suit of Mjolnir armour, _Sanctuary._

"I am never washing this hand again" stated Benjamin, looking down at the hand which he used to shake the General's hand like as if it just got blessed.

"Get your heads out of the gutters" told Clayton, grabbing the back of their suits collars so to drag his two younger brothers behind him. "I've been tasked with making you two Grimm Killers so let's not disappoint the General."

**( Beacon - Dormitories ) **

Spending most of their time either out on missions or in Beacon, nobody from Team RWBY have ever gotten the chance to buy an actual place to call their own. Due to this, they all continue to stay in the same dormitory as they did when attending Beacon Academy, but each one now have a room of their own. While the four young women have enjoyed living in the same room as each other for the four years they attended Beacon, they can't deny that a bit of privacy is nice to have now and then.

Especially after that incident in their fourth year when Yang brought back a boy to their room. The rest of Team RWBY would prefer to forget the time when they walked into their room while Yang and her boyfriend at the time were in the middle of their _activities. _

"This is bullshit" stated Yang, pacing around her bedroom while the rest of her team watch her from either beside a wall or from the bed. From the way Yang is clenching and unclenching her fists, everyone can tell that she is trying her best to not punch something inside the room. They guess the only thing actually stopping her is Glynda who will reprimand Yang if she does so.

"You can hate it all you want, but there isn't anything we can do about it" spoke Blake, shrugging her shoulders as she leans her back against the wall beside the door. Unlike Yang, she can see the benefits of having an army to protect the city. At least with so much firepower, the civilians will feel a whole lot safer, even if such a statement is a bit ironic.

"Can we not protest this to the Council?" asked Yang, turning to Weiss who knows more about politics than anyone else.

Much to Yang's growing annoyance, Weiss shakes her head. "You must understand that this is much bigger than ourselves, Yang. If the Council were to cut off the agreement with the Freelancers, the Vytal Festival would need to be cancelled and that's the last thing they want to do, especially with how close it is. With no festival, there would be no tourists coming to see it and if there's no tourists, than there's nobody to spend Lien in the Kingdom. The Vytal Festival will only go on if the Freelancers are here to act as security. Besides, they signed a contract so you can protest all you want, but this is happening" she explained, but one glance at her teammate shows that Yang is still annoyed. "If it's any condolence, I'm not happy about this either."

"I don't think a lot of Hunters will be happy about this" mentioned Blake, having seen many unhappy faces after leaving the amphitheatre. _"Although, I think Yang's more angry about her missing mother than the Freelancers" _she thought, knowing that Yang is just venting out her frustrations.

"But why should we have to listen to a bunch of mercenaries?" asked Yang, feeling the need to punch something or rather, Jaune's face. "We are professional Huntresses. We protect and save lives on a daily basis."

"So do they."

Everyone turns to Ruby who is calmly sitting on top of Yang's bed. Having not said a word yet, everyone is surprised to hear their team leader speak. "Rubes?" asked Yang, wondering what her sister means.

"I've spent two weeks on their ship and whenever I wasn't in the infirmary, I was learning more about their operations and what they do. Did you know that they protect more than forty frontier towns all across Remnant?" From the surprised expressions on everyone's faces, Ruby can guess that they haven't. "Every day, the Freelancers protect those who can't protect themselves. I don't agree with some of the things they do, but they do them for the right reasons."

Yang looks down and glares at the floor while taking in a deep breath. Relaxing her shoulders and releasing the air in her lungs, Yang slowly nods. "I guess there's nothing I can do about it. For now anyway."

Seeing her sister calm herself has Ruby smile. Ten years ago, Yang would have charged at Jaune without thinking about the consequences. It just shows that just like everyone else, Yang has managed to grow up as a person and learn how to control her emotions. While it isn't perfect, she has gotten a lot better. "Now then, how about we all go out and see a movie? I hear there's a new Spruce Willis movie out right now."

Yang allows a smirk to grace her lips and chuckles. "A movie wouldn't be too bad."

"I guess I can go too" spoke Blake, shrugging her shoulders. She won't deny a bit of team bonding and besides, she knows that seeing a movie will help to release the recent stress of their lives. It can also turn away the attention from the Freelancers, at least for a little bit.

Weiss isn't as accepting to the activity as the others. "Does it have to be a Spruce Willis film?"

**xXx**

Walking into the laboratory that belongs to the General, Adam Jensen sees his leader and friend sitting by a terminal while typing down patterns of codes into it. While not someone to specialize in computers, Adam can tell by the console screen that Jaune is making a series of digital codes for something complicated. Adam can't even follow his General's hand movements, watching as his fingers move so fast that they appear to blur across the holographic keyboard.

It doesn't take a genius for Adam to find out what the codes are for, seeing as there are two cables which are connected from the console to the two unmoving androids that are standing right beside one another in the centre of the room.

"I thought we didn't deal with androids?" asked Adam, stepping to Jaune's side. While some Freelancers have enquired onto why they don't make androids to do some heavy lifting, Adam knows the real reason why Jaune doesn't allow it.

They are too much of a liability.

Obviously, Atlas doesn't think so because they continue to mass produce Atlesian Knight-200s to boost their large army. However, after having studied a few Atlesian Knights which the Schnee Dust Company used in their battles with the Freelancers, Jaune has found out that each one of the Atlesian Knights are run by the same dumb A.I. which they store either in military bases or large carrier airships. While A.I. technology is rather commonplace nowadays, Jaune doesn't believe that it's smart of Atlas to use a dumb A.I. to control a majority of its military might. All it would take is a skilled enough hacker to corrupt the dumb A. gain control over the thousands of Atlesian Knights. Not entirely smart for Atlas which is known to be the most technologically advanced Kingdom of them all.

"We don't, but these two aren't your ordinary androids" answered Jaune as he continues typing, refusing to take his attention away from the screen. "Unlike the Atlesian Knight-200s, these two will be installed with a smart A.I. that is of my own creation." Unlike dumb A.I., smart A.I. can learn a vast amount of information and also comprehend from their surroundings. They are also known to be impossible to hack, unless the hacker knows their access code. Seeing as he is the only one who knows of their access code, Jaune has no worries of someone trying to hack into his two androids which are being uploaded with his two smart Artificial Intelligences.

Adding the final code, Jaune stands up and watches as the A.I. upload themselves into his two new creations. After a few seconds of uploading, the two androids suddenly stand up straight before looking around the room.

The android on Jaune's right soon faces him. "Are you my creator?" The android stands over six feet tall and is mostly coloured a grayish blue. Unlike the Atlesian Knight-200s, it lacks any actual armour and instead of an actual face, it has a large red eye that glows almost menacingly. However, the most noticeable feature of the android is the screen that is on its chest which displays a curious cartoon expression.

Jaune smiles and nods. "Indeed I am, Pathfinder."

**( Pathfinder - Apex Legends ) **

Pathfinder doesn't respond, but the face on its chest changes into a smiley face, showcasing what it's feeling.

The second android looks around the room for another minute before finally turning to Jaune. Unlike its fellow android, it's painted a rusty orange and is more armoured. It also has a screen for a face which shows a perplexed facial expression on it. "Creator?" Once Jaune nods, its expression changes into a smiling.

"Adam, let me introduce you to the two newest members of the Freelancers" spoke Jaune, waving an arm towards the androids. "Our newest scout, Pathfinder and our newest juggernaut, Nash."

**( Nash - Lawbreakers )**

Adam can't help himself but be impressed with the two androids which are looking at him curiously. From his own bionics, he can feel them scan his body, likely to study him and find out everything about his body, including any weaknesses that they might be able to exploit. They are definitely far smarter than the latest models of the Atlesian Knights, but he'll have to wait and see if they are better in combat wise. _"I swear, he only gets smarter" _he thought with a smirk. "Hi" he said, nodding towards the two androids.

"Hello!" cheerfully spoke Pathfinder while waving a hand over its head. Nash simply nods at the Commander, not appearing to be as outgoing as its fellow android.

"Before I forget" spoke Adam, stepping up to Jaune while holding out his Scroll. Jaune accepts the device and sees a digital map of Vale on it. "We need to discuss the security measures for the city. I've got all the necessary Freelancers ready, but you'll need to decide where to place them."

Nodding in understanding, Jaune looks over the digital map of Vale. "First off, let's put a squad of Freelancers within running distance of every Dust store in the city. I can't have anymore Dust thefts going on while we're here."

"Understandable" agreed Adam, knowing of the constant Dust thefts which have been going on within Vale. With the Grimm and White Fang threat increasing with also the Vale Police Department being incompetent, there has been no one in the city to actually stop the thefts from occurring. Thus, the crime rate in the Kingdom has increased exponentially and obviously, this only helps to increase negativity throughout the Kingdom, causing even more Grimm to be drawn to the city. "Hopefully, we'll be able to find out who's doing it and why."

"Hopefully" nodded Jaune, placing dots on the digital map, showcasing every Dust store where he wants Freelancers to be placed near to. He even places a squad of Freelancers near the SDC stores, even though they have their own security force, which is likely why none of their stores have been robbed before. Still, the SDC workers probably won't like seeing Freelancer soldiers nearby, but that's a problem Jaune doesn't actually care about.

By now, the Vale News Network has already explained the reason for the Freelancers arrival and of their role in protecting the city. The Schnee Dust Company employees will know better than to mess with his Freelancers, especially since every one of the fights between them has ended with the Freelancers victory.

Having mapped out where he wants his Freelancers to be placed, Jaune returns the Scroll to his Commander. While he has his Commander here, he may as well continue with their business. "Any word on our informant?"

"He has sent word to us about possessing some information, but he couldn't risk telling us from over the Scroll" answered Adam.

"Then I'll head down to the city and see what he has for us myself" stated Jaune, making sure that his Commander understands that he isn't asking. Besides, it'll be less likely that Texas or Caroline will find him in the city than in the airship.

"Who will you be taking with you?"

"Nobody. I'll be going on my own" answered Jaune, shaking his head. Before Adam can voice his concerns, Jaune responds first. "The White Fang likely have spies of their own within Vale. They're going to report to their superiors if they see someone being guarded by Freelancer soldiers. It'll be easier for me to blend in without an escort."

_"Blend in? Him?" _thought Adam, deciding to not voice his own doubts to the General. Not that the man can't defend himself, seeing as he's known to spar with Texas on a regular basis. It's just with his unique appearance and dominating presence, Adam can't really see Jaune actually blending in with the civilians of the city.

**( Vale ) **

Half an hour later and Jaune finds himself walking through the streets of Vale while looking around at the nearby stores. _"Looks like they're almost done with the decorations" _he thought, noticing the many festive decorations and stalls which have been set up for the festivities of the Vytal Festival.

Even now, he can see the excitement on peoples faces. The sight of the people forgetting the troubles of the real world brings a small smile to Jaune's face, no matter how sad the reality of the world really is like. Shaking himself out of his thoughts, Jaune sees his designation just three stores away. Walking up the street, he stops in front of a store that's coloured brown and reads the sign. "Tukson's Book Trade."

Humming to himself, Jaune steps through the front door and hears the bell make a noise when the door hits it. Once inside, Jaune looks around the room and sees many books lining the shelves. _"Looks like Tukson has collected quite a lot of books" _he thought, reading the title of a few books.

"I'll be with you in a moment!" exclaimed a voice from the back room of the store.

While waiting for the owner, Jaune looks at the books and he notices a row of comic books on a shelf. _"X-Ray and Vav?" _he thought in surprise, having remembered how he use to read them in his childhood. Picking up a copy, Jaune looks at the colorful comic with a somber smile on his face. _"No wonder I didn't get into Beacon properly. While everyone else spent their time training on how to fight Grimm, I wasted mine playing video games and reading comic books." _

Does he regret his decision to not taking his Hunter training seriously? No. It once did, but he then remembers how far he has become and he did it without the support of anyone else. If he didn't get expelled and got on that Bullhead, he wouldn't have founded the Freelancers and many more people would have died by now. What's a dream to become a Huntsman when he is now a General of an army which protects and saves thousands of people on a daily basis.

Hearing the owner step out of the back room, Jaune places the comic book back on its shelf and steps up to the counter.

"Welcome to Tukson's. Home to ev-" Before he can finish his store's catchphrase, Tukson steps out of the back room and sees who has stepped inside his store. "G-General Arc." Realizing how rude he is being, Tukson, straightens his back and salutes. "Sir!"

Jaune smiles at Tukson and nods. "At ease, soldier. No need to look anymore suspcious to the public outside" he said, referring to the civilians walking past the store. Some may find it odd and highly suspicious if they saw a simple book store owner salute to the Freelancer General.

Slowly, Tukson relaxes his body and nods his head in respect to the General. "Of course, sir."

Jaune quickly turns serious as he looks at Tukson. "I hear you've got information for me, Warrant Officer" he spoke to his undercover Freelancer, knowing all about Tukson's past.

"I do" answered the Faunus. Having been a former member of the White Fang before joining the Freelancers, Tukson has knowledge of their operations throughout Remnant, but for the past three years, he has been using a highly advanced radio to listen in on the White Fang private communication channels, picking up useful information which he then sends back to the Freelancers. Many White Fang outposts and recruitment centres have been raided by the Freelancers in the past because of Tukson. However, the latest piece of information is especially noteworthy, which is why he can't risk the enemy possibly overhearing him from an unsafe Scroll connection. "Lately, I've been hearing chatter of the White Fang gathering in Mountain Glenn. There's no specifications as to why, but they're asking for large numbers so they can commence with a big operation."

Jaune frowns upon hearing that. He has planned to send another scouting party to Mount Glenn so to find out the reason why the White Fang have a presence there. Hearing that they are planning a big operation there has him change his mind very quickly on the matter. While Mount Glenn is many miles away from the outside wall of Vale, he can't ignore whatever the terrorist organization is planning as it's still too close to Vale for his comfort. _"There'll be no time to send another scouting party. By the time they find out anything, it could be too late. I'll have to send a fireteam or maybe even a Headhunter" _he thought, disliking anything that has to do with the White Fang.

A number of people under Freelancer protection has died because of the White Fang and for no other reason than to cause destruction and mayhem. While they still claim to be fighting for their fellow Faunus, everyone knows that they're nothing but terrorists who only looks for excuses. They are criminals that need to be put down before they can cause anymore harm to the people, no matter if they're Faunus or Human.

"That a not all" said Tukson. "I've also gotten word that there will be a White Fang recruitment drive occurring in two weeks. I don't know exactly where it'll be, but I do know that they're going to be unveiling something big at it."

Jaune groans as he rubs the space between his brows. "The White Fang are starting to get even more annoying than ever before" he muttered with a sigh. He'll send a squad to find the location of the recruitment drive and if they can, discover whatever the _big surprise _is. "Is that everything?"

Tukson looks out the window from over the General's shoulder before nervously turning back to him. "Not quite. From a few of my own informants, I've found out that the White Fang have discovered my whereabouts or at least, they know that I'm in Vale. I'm afraid that they'll be looking to put a bullet in my head."

Jaune frowns, knowing that the White Fang don't allow traitors to get off so easily. Tukson is a good reason why, since his information and spying has helped the Freelancers do more damage to the White Fang than anyone else. If it's true that they know about Tukson being in Vale, then it won't take them long to find out where he lives. "That is troubling news. It looks like you won't be staying in Vale for much longer, Warrant Officer."

"Will I make my way to the Mother of Invention?" asked Tukson, almost hoping that the General says yes, but he doesn't show his desperation.

Unfortunately, Jaune shakes his head. "Not at the moment. You'll remain here for the time being, but don't worry. I'll place a squad just outside your door and they'll remain out of sight until they see something suspicious."

Tukson let's out a sigh of relief. While he would prefer to be in the safety of the _Mother of Invention, _knowing that fellow Freelancers will be just outside his door does make him feel a whole lot safer.

Turning around, Jaune steps towards the door before suddenly stopping. Seemingly in a world of his own, he slowly turns around and takes something off a shelf.

"By the way, how much for this X-Ray and Vav comic?"


	6. Attack

**Enjoy. **

**xXx**

_The first thing Jaune feels when he regains consciousness is the throbbing pain that rakes across his entire body. Everything from his head to his fingers aches in agony with no sign of stopping anytime soon. _

_Recognizing the touch of dirt as he lies on his back, Jaune slowly pushes himself up to a sitting position while almost collapsing again, due to the pain that throbs across his sore and weak muscles. Once he's fully sitting up, Jaune rubs his eyes to rid himself of his blurry vision and soon sees why he is in so much pain. _

_Surrounding him are the remains of what use to be a Bullhead. The destroyed remains of the vehicle lay in ruins across the trench in which Jaune finds himself in. Most of the destroyed pieces of the Bullhead are also on fire, providing Jaune with more warmth than he naturally desires. Slowly and painfully, Jaune pushes himself up to his feet and inwardly cheers, having only fallen back down twice. A personal best! _

_Once on his feet, Jaune looks down on his person and sees that his body is mostly intact, although his clothing has definitely seen better days. What armour he is wearing is beaten and scratched so badly that he can only compare them to a piece of scrap metal. His pair of jeans is a bit burnt at the bottom with a big cut going down his right leg, but to be fair, it's the most intact of all his clothing. His Pumpkin Pete hoodie is covered in cuts and it's obvious to the former Beacon student that no amount of stitching will be able to repair it. The sight is enough to nearly bring a tear to his eye, remembering all the Pumpkin Pete cereal he had to eat to earn enough box tops to get the hoodie. _

_Although, the smell of burning flesh has Jaune suck up his inner pain to instead, cover his mouth so to avoid spilling the contents of his stomach across the floor. _

_Looking for the source of the smell, Jaune soon finds it when he sees a burning figure which is sitting on a mostly intact chair. While the corpse is burnt so badly that it's difficult to recognize the person, Jaune remembers the burning piece of metal on the corpse's head which use to be a helmet to belong to the pilot of his Bullhead. Having never seen a dead body, let alone smell one while it's burning, Jaune loses all self control and throws up the contents from within his stomach. When he runs out of vomit, he begins to retch for a moment before managing to get himself under control. _

_Wiping the remnants of his breakfast from his lips, Jaune offers the pilot a silent prayer before he looks around his surroundings. He sees no sign of forestry whatsoever, only pillars and cliffs of rocks. "I can't be in Vale. There isn't a tree for miles" he said to himself with a frown. _

_Furrowing his brows in thought, Jaune attempts to remember how he has gotten himself into this position in the first place. He recalls having got on the Bullhead after being expelled from Beacon while trying his best not to cry during the trip home. However, after an hour into the trip, the pilot called out to him, saying something about a missile? Next thing he knew, an explosion erupted by the back of the Bullhead and flames engulfed the vehicle as it crashed. _

_"Why didn't I die?" Jaune asked himself, wondering why he isn't a burning corpse like the pilot. While he rather prefers to be in agonizing pain than dead, he is still curious about how he of all people could have survived such a terrible crash. The answer to Jaune's question soon comes to him when he sees his hands glow white for a brief moment. Glancing down at his hands, Jaune watches as the white light flickers for a moment before shattering into nothingness. "Aura. So that's how I survived." Still, it looks like his Aura has reached its limit as it has shattered after protecting his body from a majority of the damage from the crash. _

_Unfortunately, Jaune's bad luck continues to cause him problems once he hears the sound of growling Beowolves. _

_Feeling his blood turn cold, Jaune slowly turns around and widens his eyes in horror when he sees a trio of Beowolves as they climb over a pile of rocks while drooling. Obviously, they were attracted by his current negativity and decided to get a snack out of him. _

_Having taken off Crocea Mors from his person after getting in the Bullhead, Jaune quickly looks around the Bullhead wreckage to hopefully find his family's ancestral weapon. A slimmer of hope creeps up in his chest when he sees the familiar shine of Crocea Mors from beside a piece of melting metal a couple of feet away from him. Unlike the metal that made up the Bullhead, Crocea Mors looks to be completely intact, showcasing to incredible durability of the unknown metal it's made up of. _

_While he may have found his weapon, Jaune still needs to retrieve the weapon before fighting three Beowolves. If that's not enough, he has to do so with his body in agony and his Aura having shattered, leaving him completely defenseless. Still, if there's one thing that Jaune Arc is, it's determined. _

_So when the leading Beowolf steps forward, Jaune immediately makes a run for the sword. However, his first step causes a sudden sharp pain to erupt from his ankle, causing Jaune to collapse forward. Not one to give up so easily, Jaune goes with the momentum and tilts his head down while falling. This has him roll forward across the rocky floor before jumping towards his weapon when he gets back onto his feet. Reaching out to his weapon, Jaune grabs a hold of Crocea Mors handle and with a swift pull, manages to unsheath the weapon. _

_Quickly turning around, Jaune attempts to swing Crocea Mors, but widens his eyes in horror when he sees that the Beowolf is a lot closer than he originally thought it would be. That's why when he sees the Beowolf raise and drop one of its sharp claws down on him, he has no way to defend himself. _

_Jaune can only watch in horror as the claw descends down towards his right eye..._

**xXx**

Waking up in a cold sweat, Jaune pants in mental exhaustion as he looks around his surroundings to make sure he is still in his bedroom aboard the _Mother of Invention. _Once he regains control of his racing thoughts and pumping heart, Jaune sighs in exhaustion. Pushing off his covers, Jaune throws his legs to the side of his bed, revealing that he sleeps in a simple pair of briefs. "That dream again" he muttered while leaning his elbows against his knees.

Pushing himself up to his feet, Jaune walks into the bathroom that is connected to his bedroom. Twisting the cold tap on, Jaune pools the cold water into his hand and throws it up into his face to help himself wake up.

As he leans against the sink, Jaune looks up at the mirror and sees his exhausted face stare back at him. "Hey handsome" he muttered with a dry laugh. His gaze soon focuses onto his right eye and he touches the scar running down it, feeling the phantom pain of having his eye gouged out by that Beowolf. The phantom pains never truly do fade away, but they do lessen in time. The same can be said about his missing arm, as well as the numerous other scars that litter his body.

The only upside is that he gave those Beowolves more than they could chew.

Jaune looks down at a clock beside the sink and sees that it's just over 5 AM. While it's still a bit early to get up, he knows that he won't be able to get back to sleep after having that dream.

So, after taking a quick shower and getting himself dressed, Jaune leaves the privacy of his bedroom and steps out into one of the many hallways of the airship. Walking down one direction, Jaune decides to get some breakfast from the Mess Hall. As he has Freelancers working in all hours, the Mess Hall is always stocked with food and is open at all times. He doesn't want any of his men and women to starve, just because they are unlucky enough to get the night shift.

Walking through the sliding door, Jaune sees that the Mess Hall is mostly empty, but is quite surprised to see Washington, North, South and Felix sitting by one of the tables near the doorway. All of them, except for Washington have their helmets off and since he can't see them on their person, he guesses that they all left them in their lockers.

North is the first one to notice his arrival. "General? What are you doing up this early?"

"I could ask you the same thing" remarked Jaune, walking towards the occupied table. "I don't recall having any of you on security duty tonight."

"You didn't, but Commander Jensen did" answered Washington while he sucks a carton of apple juice through his helmet with a straw. "Had to take over security duty over at the CCT. He said something about how we can't always have the same people on the same security detail every day."

"Which is bullshit, by the way" stated South, uncaring of her bad mouth while in the presence of the General. She usually makes sure to keep control of her bad language when the General is around, but she's off duty right now and so, she doesn't give a shit.

That doesn't stop North from shaking his head in disappointment.

"Why the hell are you drinking juice from a straw with your helmet still on?" asked Felix with a perplexed expression on his face as he stares at Washington's weird eating habits. It's not the first time he has seen it, but Locus stopped him from asking about it before.

"York says that the helmet waste disposal is out of Beta. Said that it'll make my eating more efficient" answered Washington before taking another sip from his juice.

Jaune hides his laugh by coughing into his fist, but South and Felix aren't as willing to pretend they find Washington's naive personality funny.

"And you believed him?" laughed Felix. "You're so naive!"

"Washington's eating habits aside" spoke Jaune, getting another laugh from everyone by the table, except for Washington. "You should all rest up. You all must be tired."

Felix stands up from the table and stretches his arms over his head. "That's an order I can get behind" he said before heading towards the door. "Later losers" he exclaimed while waving over his shoulder.

Chuckling at Felix's antics, Jaune walks to the food so he can get something for breakfast.

While Felix leaves the Mess Hall, South watches him leave with a longing gaze. She tries to look discrete, but she has the unfortunate luck to share a Semblance with her brother. So while she may pretend to not be staring at Felix, North uses _Mind's Eye _to see through his sister's eyes and much to his disgust, her eyes seem to be focused on Felix's ass.

North waits for Felix to be out of the room before rounding on his sister. "Will you just ask the guy out already? It isn't like Felix is going to say no to you."

Caught off guard by her brother's sudden statement, South suddenly wishes that she her helmet on so to hide the heat that she can feel creep up on her cheeks. "I don't know what you're talking about! I won't sit here and listen to you make up stupid lies about me liking a prick like Felix" she exclaimed while glaring at her brother. Violently pushing off the table, South storms out of the Mess Hall and shoves aside another Freelancer who gets in her way.

Said Freelancer says nothing, knowing all about South's bad temper. In fact, the entire ship knows about South's bad temper, hence why they all try to get in her way. She may not be the best Freelancer, South is still one of the better ones.

"Where's South?" asked Jaune, having returned to the table with a tray of food on hand. He places the tray down on the table and sits beside Washington, waiting to know about South's sudden whereabouts.

"North teased South about her crush on Felix and told her that she should just ask him out and I agree. How Felix doesn't see her _discrete _glances is beyond me" replied Washington. He has been sitting in front of South before she left so he has seen her ogling Felix as he left. He'll admit that they do make a cute couple, only for the fact that they're both mean, arrogant and beasts on the battlefield. _"Oh no, they're children are going to be killing machines" _he thought, inwardly groaning at the thought of the two of them reproducing.

"What do you think we should do with them, General? I say we just lock them in a closet and let them have at it" asked North, looking towards his leader for guidance. Having lived in a small frontier town in the west of Mistral, he has always thought that his village elder is the smartest person there is, but then the General showed up to town with the Freelancers, although they weren't as big as they are now. While his town elder was wise, the General is smart. Smarter than anyone his age should be.

Jaune nearly chokes on the sausage in his mouth and after hitting his chest, manages to swallow it down. Once his airways are free, Jaune chuckles over North's question. "Believe me, I am the _**last**_ person you should be asking for romance advice."

"Really?" asked North, feeling a little bit skeptical about that. "The guy who has women from all across Remnant chasing after him doesn't have any romance advice to share?"

"Sounds like he's being selfish to me" joked Washington, managing to somehow eat his scrambled eggs through his helmet.

Jaune chokes up once again, but not on from food. He can't deny North's statement, seeing as it is mostly true. It turns out that by saving their lives and offering protection to the frontier towns, many of the resident women have attempted to _repay _him back in kind. While he accepted some of their generous _repayments, _that was years ago when he was a hormonal teenager and the Freelancers were nothing but a small group of people with limited training and weaponry skills. Now, he tries his best to ignore such offers whenever he visits the frontier towns.

The door to the Mess Hall opens, revealing a very heavily armoured Freelancer who's armour is painted a mix of steel and maroon trim. The Freelancer's most noticeable feature is his helmet which has the design of a shark, therefore, earning him the name, Sharkface. A few have mocked him for his name and the design of his helmet, but Sharkface always reminds them why they shouldn't by sending them to the Medical Bay.

**( Sharkface - Red Vs Blue )**

Standing up to greet the Freelancer, as well as avoid the current conversation with North and Washington, Jaune smiles in greeting. "Sharkface. How was your mission with your team?"

"Boring" grunted Sharkface in what sounds like annoyance. "Nothing but a pack of Beowolves with a couple of Ursai. There was no challenge." Honestly, with his heavy Mjolnir armour and powerful Flamethrower, there is nothing that can give him much of a challenge lately, especially when he's fighting with the rest of his team.

Jaune visibly perks up, knowing a mission which he can supply Sharkface and his team. "If it's a challenge that you're after, then bring your team to the Bridge in 1800 hours. I have a mission that might provide that challenge you seek" told Jaune.

"Really? Well then, I guess I'll inform my team of the good news then" answered Sharkface before he turns and leaves the Mess Hall. He has a team he needs to find so he can inform them of their newest task and if what the General says is true, it might actually be a good challenge.

Jaune turns back to Washington and North. "It has been fun, but I must return to my duties. Remember to rest up and try not to aggravate South anymore than you have" he told before stepping out of the Mess Hell. Good thing he does so, because more Freelancers are starting to arrive for breakfast.

North shakes his head with a small smirk. "You know, I've seen the General fight bandits, androids and hordes of Grimm without so much as a flinch, but I've never seen him run away from a conversation about romance before."

"I think we just found his one weakness" said Washington with a grin hiding underneath his helmet.

North laughs at Washington. "Don't let him hear you say that about him. He'll have you cleaning toilets before you know it."

**( Beacon - Ozpin's Office )**

Three days have passed by since the arrival of the Freelancers and Ozpin will admit that having them in Vale has been a great decision on his part, no matter what Glynda says.

Almost immediately, all thefts on Dust stores in the city has stopped and it's most likely because of the squads of armoured Freelancers who are constantly patrolling the streets of Vale. Not only has the Dust thefts come to a halt, but signs of gang violence has also stopped as well. That is likely because of the Freelancers who managed to completely wipe out the entirety of the Black Void gang who occupied the southern side of Vale. All in one night as well.

Ozpin knows exactly what happened, having attained the arrest reports from his friends in the Vale Police Department. Within minutes, the Freelancers invaded the street gang's headquarters and killed any who fought back while taking back the rest as prisoners. From the reports given by the prisoners, all of their firepower merely bounced off the Freelancers armour and didn't even leave a scratch. While the gangsters didn't possess Hunter weaponry, it further proves to Ozpin that their technology is more advanced than even Atlas's own. Discovering that one of the biggest gangs in the Kingdom have been beaten so easily likely made the other gangs too afraid to act out.

While he reads the arrest reports, Ozpin hears the sound of something tapping the glass of his window. Turning to the window, Ozpin sees a crow tapping its beak against the glass. Standing up, Ozpin walks over to the window and opens it up for the bird which then flies in before transforming into Ozpin's greatest operative, Qrow.

"Sup, Oz. I noticed that you've got a bit of an infestation going on. Want to tell me about it?" asked Qrow, referring to the Freelancers as the infestation. Having flown around Vale for a bit, Qrow didn't fail to notice the hundreds of Freelancer men and women who are patrolling the streets. The giant airship floating in the sky might have also caught his sight.

Ozpin smirks at Qrow in a playful manner. "You noticed them, did you?"

Qrow's brow twitches in annoyance. "Yes, I noticed the giant airship in the sky so quit it with the games and tell me what's going on" he said before dropping himself onto one of the seats in front of Ozpin's desk.

"I guess I should explain" sighed Ozpin. For the next fifteen minutes, Ozpin explains the situation to Qrow and for every minute that passes, Qrow's eyebrows rise a few millimeters higher. By the end of Ozpin's explanation, his brows are nearly hidden underneath his hair.

"So what you are saying is that you convinced the Council to hire the Freelancers to take over security for the Kingdom until the Vytal Festival tournament takes place? At which point, Jimmy will show up at the last minute to take over?" Once he sees Ozpin nod, Qrow sighs and takes out his hip flask before taking a deep pull of its contents. The burning sensation in his throat has Qrow sigh in satisfaction before he rounds back on Ozpin. "And you're okay with having a group of mercenaries walking around the city with their guns and heavy armour?"

"What makes that any different than the Huntsmen and Huntresses who walk the streets?" remarked Ozpin, quirking a lone brow.

Qrow opens his mouth to retort, but finds out he has no defence to Ozpin's remark. "Point taken. Still though, you must have another reason for having them here and it's not just because you want to host the Vytal Festival."

Ozpin nods to Qrow's question. "True. While I am delighted that the Vytal Festival is allowed to continue, that isn't the main reason for bringing them here."

"And that reason is?" asked Qrow, leaning back against his chair.

Ozpin leans forward and crosses his fingers together while planting his elbows on the desk. "We're losing this war, Qrow. I know it and you know it."

Qrow flinches, knowing that to be very true. More Grimm are swarming the Grimmlands and more settlements are being destroyed nearly every day. Honestly, if not for the Freelancers being located in the Grimmlands, the Grimm would've destroyed most of the frontier towns by now. They can't even send Hunters to fight off the Grimm from the frontier towns because they're being used to deter the Grimm that are near the Kingdom's walls. Grimm numbers continue to rise while the lives of Humans and Faunus continue to dwindle. The _activities _of the White Fang aren't helping matters either.

Ozpin continues to speak. "More Hunters die every day while fighting off Salem and her cohorts. Every day, we take a step backwards while she takes a step forward. In time, the Grimm will eventually overrun us all. That's why I have the Freelancers here."

Qrow's eyes widen as everything clicks to him. "You want to bring them into the fold?" Qrow said as more of a statement than an actual question. It's the only plausible reason that makes sense, at least to him anyway.

"They're highly trained and heavily armed men and women with technology that will make even James jealous. If we can have them as allies, it could be the push we need to finally get one over on Salem."

"Then why not just hire them? They're mercenaries, right? They'll do anything for money."

Ozpin sighs as he leans back against his chair. "Unfortunately, I don't think it'll be that easy."

"Why not?" asked Qrow with a shrug of his shoulders. "What's stopping you?"

"Ten years ago, their General was once a student at Beacon who was then expelled for faking his transcripts" deadpanned Ozpin. "Might I add that Glynda was also a bit harsh on him when doing so."

Qrow pauses as he tries to take in the information Ozpin has just dropped on his lap. "Well shit, that doesn't sound good." And he means that to the extreme. He knows what Glynda is like when she's harsh and it isn't pretty.

"Doesn't sound good indeed" stated Ozpin before sighing. "I was hoping that his bond with his team would've stuck with him, but while there isn't any hostility between them, there isn't a close enough bond there either."

"So then, what's the plan? How are we going to get into the General's good books?" asked Qrow, hoping that Ozpin has an answer. If Ozpin doesn't have an answer, then nobody in Remnant does.

Luckily for him, Ozpin does have one. "We hold an event. Nothing too big like the student fighting tournament, but something similar."

"So what type of event are we talking about here?"

**( Vale )**

The entirety of team RWBY can be found walking down the busy streets of Vale so they can see the many stalls that have been set up for the festivities of the Vytal Festival.

"Wow! There's even more people here than last time" exclaimed Ruby as she notices the large amount of people who are viewing the many stalls. She remembers her first year in Beacon Academy when the Vytal Festival took place in Vale and she doesn't recall there being so many people in the city before, especially this early in the festivities. There's still a couple of weeks before the fighting tournament between the four Hunter Academies and that's usually the time when everyone shows up.

"That's because half the people here are Freelancers and I'm not just talking about the ones in suits of armour" remarked Blake, using her sharp eyes to spot the Freelancers who are dressed in civilian garbs. It's not so hard to find the Freelancers as quite a few of them have tattoos of the Freelancer symbol on visible parts of their bodies. She also doesn't miss how they are all carrying a weapon on their person, mostly a pistol.

"What the hell are you looking at?" asked Yang, glaring at an armoured Freelancer who has been staring at the group while leaning against the wall of a nearby building. Said Freelancer continues to stare back at Yang, seemingly undisturbed by the glaring Huntress. "You got something to say?"

"Maine, get over here! We're on patrol!" shouted a Freelancer from down the road.

The Freelancer turns to his squad before turning back to Yang and growls. Pushing himself off the wall, Maine walks after his squad, ignoring the glaring Huntress who drills a hole into the back of his head with her eyes.

"That's right, runaway" egged on Yang, only to be stopped by Ruby who pulls the back of her jacket.

"Stop it, Yang. You said you'd be good" said Ruby, fearing the chance of Maine and Yang fighting. She has seen Maine fight before and can honestly say that she has no idea who would win in a fight between them. Both of them have similar fighting styles and while Yang has an advantage with her Semblance, Maine has his suit of Mjolnir armour which could even things out.

Yang growls, but eventually sighs in defeat. "I'm sorry. I guess I'm still a little pissed about Raven and the Freelancers. To be honest, seeing so many of them around is starting to annoy me."

"I understand, but you have got to chill. Last thing we want to do is anger the Freelancers" stated Weiss, having no desire to anger the dangerous army.

Just as Yang opens her mouth to reply, they all hear a commotion coming from one of the nearby stalls.

"What the hell?! That's nearly three times the original price you gave to the person before me!" yelled a Freelancer at the unapologetic food stall owner. Said Freelancer is in civilian garb, showcasing the patches of green scales that litter her arms and face, indicating that she's a Faunus. The Freelancer symbol can be seen etched into the right side of her neck.

"You don't like it? Then go get your food somejwere else, Faunus" remarked the stall owner, glaring at the Faunus in disgust. "I can charge my food any way I like."

"You racist little shit" cursed the Freelancer who looks like she's about to pummel the stall owner. The four members of team RWBY don't miss how the Freelancer is slowly moving her hand towards her holstered pistol.

Just as team RWBY are about to interfere, nearby armoured Freelancers begin to step up to the stall, having noticed the commotion. "What's the problem here?" asked a Freelancer who Ruby recognizes as Felix who's in his suit of Mjolnir armour.

"This racist bastard is overpricing his goods to me, simply cause I'm a Faunus" remarked the Faunus without a second thought.

The five Freelancers who are surrounding the stall quickly turn to the slowly sweating stall owner. "Really?~ We can't have that now, can we?" stated Felix and from the tone of his voice, everyone is sure that he has an evil grin hiding underneath that helmet of his.

While intimidated by the heavily armed and armoured soldiers, the stall owner stands his ground. "N-Now listen here, I run this stall. Not any of you so I can price my goods whatever way I want!"

Felix nods in response. "Of course you can. I wouldn't want to disrespect you in how you do things. We're just here for security purposes. However, I'm a bit worried about the state of your stall."

"Worried over the state of my stall?"

"Yep. How can't I worry when it's made of such flimsy wood." To prove his point, Felix swings his foot into the front of the stall, making a sizeable hole in the structure. "Look at that. There's a hole in your stall. Don't you realize how dangerous that is?"

"What the hell did you just do!?" shouted the stall owner in horror.

A female Freelancer in silver-coloured armour walks to the left side of the stall. "There's a hole over here as well." There actually isn't any until she swings the butt of her Battle Rifle into the side of the stall, breaking the wood as easily as swinging a hammer onto thin ice.

Another Freelancer kicks out the corner of the stall, causing it to collapse to one side and make a lot of food to fall to the floor. "It's collapsing on itself. That's a very dangerous safety hazard to have. In all good conscience, we can't allow this stall to remain open until you have fixed all the terrible craftsmanship."

Felix wraps an arm around the unarmoured Faunus Freelancer and sighs. "Looks like you can't buy any food from him today, Olive. Who'd buy food from a stall that's falling on itself anyway?" Felix leads the satisfied looking Faunus down the road. "Let's go see what food the other stalls are selling. Food that I'm sure they'll all sell at a reasonable price for all races." The surrounding people quickly make space for Felix and Olive, as well as the other intimidating Freelancers while the nearby stalls make sure to sell to all races without any problems.

They don't want to end up as the poor smuck who's crying in his destroyed food stall.

Team RWBY sees the events take place and each member are unsure to what to think.

"I feel like we should've dine something about that" said Weiss. The Freelancers may be in charge of security, but she knows that they just abused their power.

"I don't know. Guy had it coming if you asked me" shrugged Yang, seeing no actual problem with what the Freelancers did.

Blake is unsure what she should feel. As a Huntress, she finds what they did distasteful. As a Faunus, she finds what the Freelancers did enlightening and is happy to see Faunus and Humans stick up for one another.

Ruby just sighs, believing that the more open racists should keep their mouths quiet when in the presence of any Freelancers. If there is one thing she learned from staying on the _Mother of Invention_, it's that they all have each others backs, no matter what race you are. It's actually one of the things she highly respects them for.

**( Mother of Invention - Jaune's Office )**

"He's joking, right?" asked Jaune as he looks down at the message on the Scroll that Adam is showing him.

Just a few minutes ago, he has been working on gathering information for the mission that Sharkface and his team will be undertaking for him. While they may not know it, they're mission will be of vital importance and he can't skip on any of the details for the mission. Misinformation could cause the deaths of any one of his Freelancers.

Yet, that doesn't stop Adam from walking into his office and presenting him with a Scroll with a message from the Headmaster of Beacon Academy. A message that he finds to be too crazy to be legit.

"I'm afraid not, sir" answered Adam, looking as stern as usual, although the way the edges of his lips twitch show that he is finding the message strange as well.

"A mini tournament between Freelancers and Hunters? What's his game?" asked Jaune as he looks over the long and winded message.

"It could be that he wants to learn some secrets about us. I do recall that time he sent his right hand man to dig for information" spoke Adam, remembering when a dusty old crow flew into a few of their territories to search for information about them. Luckily, the Freelancers are more loyal than Ozpin's group thought and they got word to the other Freelancer territories about the nosey Qrow.

Jaune nods, remembering that as well. "True. It could also be a means for the Hunters and Freelancers to get to know each other. I haven't failed to notice the tension between my troops and the local Hunters" he stated, knowingly.

Adam can't deny the tension as it's so thick that he can probably cut it with a knife. While there are some Hunters who don't seem to mind the heavy presence of the Freelancers, the majority holds them all in contempt. Some have even attempted to get into brawls with a few Freelancers, but none fall for their attempts. The Hunters would probably force them into fights with them, if not for the Freelancers overwhelming numbers. Adam believes that they do this because of their pride and knows that it will be the death of them someday.

"What should I say back to him?" asked Adam, waiting for his leader's response.

Jaune offers the Scroll back to his Commander and shrugs his shoulders. "Tell him to wait for my response. I'll need time to think about this." Honestly, he doesn't want to waste the time and effort to placing his men and women into a mini tournament for Ozpin's entertainment, but he also doesn't want to keep avoiding Texas and Carolina for spars. There are other Freelancers who are craving for some action and he knows that if they were to find out about Ozpin's offer, they would be begging him to accept.

Still, he'll wait and see how the situation pans out for the Kingdom. If there is a lack of dangerous elements within the Kingdom, he'll agree so to sate the thirst of his more violent Freelancers. p

**xXx**

Roman Torchwick is one of the greatest criminals in all of Remnant and anyone who says otherwise is a liar.

While Roman prefers to keep himself in Vale, his infamous exploits are known from across the four corners of Remnant. Everyone knows that if there is anything that can be stolen, Roman can get his hands on it, no matter what it is or how much security is placed on it.

With this skill, Roman has managed to swipe a few Atlesian Paladins for the White Fang to use when the time is right. He has also been the one who has been stealing from the Dust stores in Vale so to supply the terrorist organization with the craved substance. For the past few months, he has been doing a good job in gathering Dust, as shown in his current hideout which is an abandoned warehouse with large boxes filled with the dangerous substance.

However, for the past few days, Roman has been forced to stop his thieving ways and not because he wants to.

Obviously, he hasn't failed to notice the giant airship that hovers over the city, or the hundreds of armoured soldiers who are patrolling around the city in all hours. He also hasn't noticed how many of their patrols leads them near the Dust stores, making it near impossible for Roman to gather any meanwhile Dust unless he wants to find himself on the other end of their rifles.

That is why he is in his hideout and not on the streets, stealing any Dust.

Leaning against the wooden table which showcases a map of Vale, Roman sighs. "These Freelancers are becoming a great pain in my ass" he muttered in the empty warehouse.

At least, he thought it was empty.

"Oh~ Roman. I do hate to see you mad."

Tensing up, Roman turns around and sees the woman who has been forcing him to help the White Fang with their Dust problem. While she may look beautiful with her smooth skin, luscious black hair and form fitting dress, he knows that she's nothing more than an ugly witch in disguise. It makes sense as she's somehow capable of conjuring those flames out of nowhere and he doubts it has anything to do with her Semblance.

Of course, Roman isn't someone to show his weaknesses so easily. "Cinder! How good it is to see you. What's this? Didn't bring the kids with you?" he asked, referring to the two young ones who usually follow after her.

Cinder smirks as she steps forward with each step making a loud noise in the tense silence. "Unfortunately, Emerald and Mercury have business elsewhere. Tying up loose ends that you were suppose to handle."

Roman tries not to flinch, having forgotten about the White Fang's traitor which he was tasked to deal with. He has been so focused on gathering Dust that he has completely forgot. "You know, it's nice to get the kids out there doing something these days. Besides, I've been a bit busy, gathering the Dust you so desperately need."

Cinder glances at the many boxes in the warehouse and frowns in disappointment. "Yet, I don't see anywhere near enough."

Roman raises his arms in defence. "Can't blame me on this one. What you see here is all the Dust that wasn't sent off to Mount Glenn. I can't exactly go robbing the stores anymore since the Freelancers are hanging around every corner."

Cinder nods in understanding. "Yes, the sudden arrival of the Freelancers have surprised even me. However, their presence will not stop or slow down proceedings. You will get me more Dust."

"And how am I suppose to get this Dust if I can't steal them from the stores?" asked Roman with a tone.

Cinder doesn't miss the tone and offers a playful smirk. "Collect the Dust before they arrive to the stores, Roman." She turns and walks to the exit, missing the surprised and annoyed expression on Roman's face. "You're the thief, Roman. Stop having me do your job for you."

**( Mother of Invention - Bridge )**

While standing in front of the holographic table, Jaune looks out of the wide window and sees Vale in all its glory. Jaune mostly ignores the noise that the scientists on the consoles are making and turns around when he hears the doors open. He sees eight Freelancers step into the Bridge and just like the Carmine brothers, they are all wearing similar suits of Mjolnir armour which are also painted with the same colours of steel and maroon.

The one leading them goes by the name, Michael Joplin, but he is simply called Leader by his team. His armour is painted steel and maroon while a capsule emblem is displayed on his chest plate. Jaune knows of Michael and likes him, not only as a team leader, but also as a Human being. He's a compassionate man, especially to all of his teammates while also being ruthless to the enemy, no matter if they're Grimm, White Fang or even the Schnee Dust Company. Michael is also dating C.T. and is one of the only people who can actually bring out a smile from her. That puts him in Jaune's good books, seeing as C.T. is one of those people who doesn't like to smile at all.

**( Insurrectionist Leader - Red Vs Blue )**

On Leader's left is Demo Man. His name is self-explanatory since his role in the team is mostly demolition as he states that there isn't anything he can't blow up. He adorns a belt of shotgun shells across his chest as his preferred weapon of choice is his Shotgun, but the Demo Man's most noticeable feature is his robotic left arm which was the result of an explosion that was caused by bandits. While some may be too damaged either physically or mentally after losing an arm, Demo Man is actually one of the few who managed to get over the loss of their arm rather quickly. It makes Jaune a little jealous, seeing as he was anything but calm after losing his own arm.

**( Demo Man - Red Vs Blue )**

To the Leader's right is the muscle of the group who simply goes by the title, Sleeveless. This is likely because he prefers to wear his armour without sleeves, therefore showcasing his large muscular arms, similar to how Clayton Carmine those so. Similar to Maine, Sleeveless doesn't speak, but it's actually because he doesn't want to than being unable to like Maine. Instead, he prefers to let his fists speak for themselves as he is proven to be a very skilled fighter, especially in hand-to-hand combat. The last time Jaune heard, there's a sort of rivarly between Maine and Sleeveless with a score being made for every victory they have in their weekly sparring matches.

**( Sleeveless - Red Vs Blue )**

On Sleeveless's right is one of the only two female members on the team, Girlie. On her chest plate is an emblem that details a kiss mark inside a heart. Just like Sleeveless and Maine, Girlie has a sort of rivalry with Carolina, although everyone knows that Carolina doesn't think of her as much as a rival. Not that Girlie isn't a big enough challenge for her, but Carolina prefers to keep her focus on surpassing Texas. Not like that has stopped Girlie from sparring with Carolina who more than welcomes the chance to spar. While skilled in gun play, everyone knows not to fight Girlie in close range, unless they want to be cut up by her two knives.

**( Girlie - Red Vs Blue ) **

On the other side of Girlie are the twins of the team. Just like Sharkface, they adorn heavy suits of Mjolnir armour with similar colouring. Each of their visors has a face painted on it, but the male has a smiley face while the female has a frowning face. Those face are also painted onto the turret barrels of their Heavy Machine Gun Turrets. Similar to Maine, both siblings are Faunus who were found in a Schnee Dust Mine and even more like Maine, they can't speak. The reason why is unknown, but it has been discovered that they can communicate with one another through their giggles and weeps. Since they can't tell anyone their names, they've been dubbed as Chain Guy and Chain Girl.

( **Heavy Machine Gun Turret - Red Vs Blue ) **

**( Chain Guy & Chain Girl - Red Vs Blue ) **

Beside Demo Man is the sniper of the group, although everyone calls him Snipes. While wearing the same armour as his teammates, Snipes's own suit of armour appears to be less bulky than the others, due to him needing less armour as he is the sniper and prefers speed over defence. Covering his helmet is a visor which allows Snipes to expand his vision even farther than his Sniper Rifle will allow, making him a very dangerous Freelancer who can headshot a target from hundreds of feet away. On his chest plate is a crosshair emblem, signifying his role as sniper for the group.

**( Resistance Sniper - Red Vs Blue ) **

On Snipe's left is Sharkface himself in all of his bulky glory. However, his large appearance seemingly looks bigger because of the large Flamethrower he is carrying with him, as well as the large canister on his back which he has filled with Fire Dust. The large suit of armour and shark painted face makes the man an imposing and dangerous looking individual.

Jaune smiles as he sees the team with their weapons on hand and fully armoured. While most Freelancers tend to stick on their own and await to be placed on temporary teams for missions, there are those who prefer to stick with the same team at all times. Jaune encourages such behaviour, knowing that it'll have each member bond and bring them even closer. It's why the team in front of him is so skilled while also having loss no members.

Still, he wishes that they could've picked a better name for their team than _Red Team. _

"Red Team" greeted Jaune as each member quickly steps around the holotable so they can be debriefed for their mission. "From what Sharkface tells me, you're all bored."

"Damn right" remarked Girlie, getting a chuckle from Sleeveless and Demo Man.

"Well then, let's rectify that" said Jaune before a holographic image of a city in ruins appears on the table. "What you see before you is Mountain Glenn. As I'm sure you're all aware, Mount Glenn was an attempt to expand the Kingdom of Vale and to take back some land from the Grimm. As you can all tell by the image, it didn't go so well."

"So what then, we're going in to rid it of the Grimm?" asked Snipes, failing to see the so-called exciting mission he has been expecting.

Jaune answers by shaking his head. "No. Red Team will be hunting bigger fish tonight. Thanks to the information gathered by our informant, as well as what our former resident, Ruby Rose has told us, we know that the White Fang have gathered by Mount Glenn in droves." Jaune doesn't miss how the team seems to focus more on the holographic table. "We have also gotten word that the White Fang are planning something big within Mount Glenn. What it could be, I don't know. That is why I want you all to go to Mount Glenn and find out what they're planning and if you can, stop it."

"And the White Fang, sir?" asked Leader, although he already knows the General's answer.

"Exterminate each and every one of them. No survivors."

**( Mount Glenn )**

In the middle of the night, a Freelancer Bullhead can be found flying above the clouds which hides it from any prying eyes in Mount Glenn.

"We'll be above Mount Glenn in two minutes. Get ready!" shouted Leader as he stands in the middle of the Bullhead while all the sitting Freelancers triple check their weapons and ammo.

"Finally. Something fun to do" grunted Sharkface as he lies his Flamethrower on his lap.

"Remember, we go in quietly. We don't want you to rush in and burn everything in sight" told Girlie, making sure that Sharkface knows his place. She makes sure to cast a warning glare at Chain Boy and Chain Girl as well since they tend to get very loud when fighting. Obviously, they reply to her by either sobbing or giggling. She has no idea if they understand or not so she can only hope that they do.

"Yea, yea. I got it" remarked Sharkface, waving off his teammate.

"One minute!" shouted Leader as he pulls his Battle Rifle from over his shoulder. The back panel of the Bullhead soon opens up, causing a gust of wind to flow into the Bullhead. A normal man would have been blown out of the Bullhead, but none of the Freelancer have to fear that happening to them, since their Mjolnir suits of armour uses Gravity Dust on its boots to stick themselves to the platform.

Each member of Red Team stands up and lifts their weapons up, wither it be Demo Man's Tactical Shotgun or the Chain twins Heavy Machine Gun Turrets. After a few seconds, Leader turns back to his team and nods. "Let's move out!"

Without a second thought, Leader runs and jumps off the back of the Bullhead, even though it's currently flying hundreds of feet in the air. He's soon followed by the rest of Red Telam who jump out after him. Once they all free fall through the clouds, Leader begins giving out orders. "Snipes, land on the highest building there is and provide recon."

"Right!" agreed Snipes before he dives away from the rest of Red Team and heads towards the tallest building which looks mostly intact. He doesn't want to be aiming down on his Sniper Rifle, only for the floor underneath him to collapse.

"Sleeveless, take Chain Guy and Girl with you to the east side. Inform the rest of the team if you make contact" ordered Leader.

Sleeveless nods and dives to the east side of Mount Glenn with the giglging and sobbing Chain Guy and Chain girl following close behind.

"Demo Man and Girlie will take west side while Sharkface and myself will take south. We'll all meet up in the centre if we haven't found anyone yet."

"Yes, sir!" shouted the rest of Red Team before everyone dives to their respective destinations.

After free falling for a few more seconds, Leader and Sharkface see the ground getting awfullly close. Just as they're about to hit the ground, Leader and Sharkface activate their jet boosts to decrease their descending speed so they can land without having to end up splattered across the pavement. Once their feet hits the floor, both Leader and Sharkface make sure to take in their surroundings so they don't get blindsided by any White Fang or Grimm.

Once they're positive that they are no enemies of any kind near them, both Leader and Sharkface begin their trek through the deserted streets of Mountain Glenn.

**( Mother of Invention - Bridge ) **

While on the Bridge, Jaune watches Red Team's movements through the holographic window which shows the footage from the cameras in all their helmets. The General frowns as none from Red Team makes any contact with the enemy, except for Sleeveless and the Chain siblings finding a small pack of Beowolves. Said Grimm are now nothing more than Swiss cheese, courtesy of Chain Boy and Chain Girl.

_"This is strange. Weeks ago, the White Fang had a very heavy presence in Mount Glenn but now, it's completely deserted. Was Tukson's information false?" _Jaune thought, wondering if the Freelancers might have a leak of sorts. Those thoughts quickly come to a halt when he hears Snipe's call out.

**( Mount Glenn ) **

"I've got eyes on the enemy!" called out Snipes as he looks through the scope of his Sniper Rifle at a pair of White Fang members. From his perch on the rooftop of a desolated skyscraper, he has the perfect view of the pair who are three blocks away from his position.

"How many?" asked Leader as he and Sharkface follow the direction where Snipe's landed.

"There's only two of them. They're currently three blocks away from my position" informed Snipes.

"Could it be a trap?" asked Girlie, running towards Snipes position with Demo Man following close behind her.

"Doubt it. They look more like scouts to me. Probably to watch out for intruders" stated Snipes, noting the lax state of the two White Fang members. They look too relaxed to be bait for a trap.

"Intruders like us" chuckled Sharkface.

"So what's the plan?" asked Demo Man, waiting for word from either Leader or the General who they all know is monitoring the mission. He never does so unless the mission is of vital importance, such as when they assaulted the Branwen tribe.

"General?" asked Leader, waiting a response from the highest authority among the Freelancers.

**"I trust your judgement, Michael. You make the call" **told Jaune through the comms system.

Leader slowly nods as he pushes his back to a wall of a building. Looking around the corner, he sees the pair of White Fang walking up a deserted street while making idle chitchat. From his position, he can see Girlie poke her head from around the corner of another building. On top of a nearby rooftop, he sees Sleeveless and the Chain siblings watching the White Fang members while crouching. "Girlie, you're the fastest of us. When I give the signal, I want you to disarm the both of them and do so quietly."

Girlie nods from his position. "Got it."

Leader reaches to the back of his hip and pulls out his collapsible hatchet. Nodding to Sharkface, Leader throws the hatchet at an angle. While it doesn't head straight towards the White Fang members, it manages to curve in midair and stab into the shoulder of the Faunus terrorist in the right. Due to not having his Aura up, the Faunus can only cry out as the hatchet sticks itself in his shoulder.

The second Faunus turn to his partner is shock and before he can figure out what to do, he feels something kick the back of his leg, causing him to collapse to one knee. A hand pulls back his neck, exposing his neck to a knife which is held by Girlie.

Once the two White Fang members have been dealt with, the rest of Red Team runs over.

"Good work" Leader praised Girlie before he looks at the Faunus who Girlie has taken captive. "I think it's time that we got some info from our new friend here."

"I'll tell you nothing" spat out the terrorist, but stops when Girlie pulls back her knife to his throat. If not for his Aura, her knife would have pierced his skin.

Beside them, Sleeveless stomps on the neck of the injured terrorist, killing him instantly. The sound of his friend's neck snapping has the defiant terrorist choke up in horror.

"You now have a choice. You can tell us what you know or..."

"Or?" gulped the Faunus.

Leader smirks under his helmet. "Or, I hand you over to my friend here." He waves his arm to Sharkface who hoists up his Flamethrower which is emitting so much heat that it's causing the air around the weapon to ripple.

The sight of the very intimidating man with the very intimidating weapon has the Faunus terrorist shiver in fear.

Page 17 of 17


	7. Train to Catch

**Enjoy. **

**xXx**

"Where are the rest of your associates?" asked Leader while crouching down so he can be on eye level with the captive terrorist. He's no skilled interrogator like Texas or Felix, but he's positive that having Sharkface's Flamethrower pressed up close to one's face will have the terrorist singing like a canary soon enough.

At first, the terrorist is reluctant to answer so Girlie makes sure to remind him of his position by pressing the blade of her knife closer to his neck. "Answer the question or I'll gut you like a fish" she threatened, promising a slow and painful death for the terrorist if he doesn't comply.

Under threat of having his throat cut open, the terrorist begins to comply with his assailants. "U-Underground! T-There are caverns d-directly beneath our feet! Most of us were told to stay down there with only a few being made to scout out topside!"

Leader glances at Sleeveless and both frown underneath their helmets. Their information on Mountain Glenn didn't mention anything about an underground cavern. Leader turns back to the terrorist to continue the interrogation. "How many of you are there?" he asked the simple, but very important question. He isn't stupid enough to go charging at the enemy unless he knows about their current numbers.

Again, the terrorist is reluctant to speak, but Sharkface stepping forward with his Flamethrower has him confessing faster than ever. "I-I don't know how many e-exactly, but there is around a hundred of us. M-Maybe more!"

Leader doesn't like the sound of that, but continues to interrogate the prisoner. "What are you all doing down in the caverns?" he asked, wondering what the White Fang could possibly want with Mountain Glenn.

"We're loading up a train with explosives! There's an underground subway system that leads straight to Vale! W-We spent the last few months clearing up all the rubble in the tunnel so to make sure that there isn't anything that will stop or slow it down."

The revelation of the White Fang's plans has the Freelancers all widen their eyes in shock. Girlie presses the knife deeper into his neck and manages to pierce his Aura, making a shallow cut which spills a drop of blood. "You're going to send in a train full of explosives to bomb Vale?!" she asked, sounding none too pleased.

"Not... exactly" groaned the terrorist in pain. Not from the cut on his neck, but from how he has to pull his head far back in an uncomfortable angle which is starting to make his neck ache. Not that he has a choice cause if he does lower his head, the female soldier's knife will surely cut into his neck and kill him.

Leader nods to Girlie who sighs and pulls her knife away from the terrorist's neck, if only slightly. Once the terrorist has more room to breathe, Leader demands more answers from the terrorist. "What do you mean by that?"

The terrorist gulps while he sweats, nervously. "Yes, the train is suppose to blow up a hole in the centre of Vale, but it is also suppose to blow up holes to the surface from throughout its journey so it can lead Grimm into the city."

Red Team thought the plan was diabolical enough as it is, but they didn't realize just how evil the White Fang truly are. They thought the terrorist organization would just cause a large explosion in the centre of Vale, possibly killing dozens, if not hundreds of people. Instead, they're planning to send Grimm into the city and cause a widespread massacre.

Not on their watch.

Nodding to Girlie, Leader stands back up and ignores how Girlie slices into the Faunus's neck, leaving him to drown in his own blood. "General, we've got a problem."

**( Mother of Invention - Bridge )**

"I heard" confirmed Jaune, attempting to ignore the bustling of people on the Bridge. The moment the terrorist explained the plan, everyone on the Bridge has begun to run in all directions, except for Jaune who remains in place, although his facial expression shows that he is _**very **_displeased with the White Fang's plan. "Get me the layout of those tunnels, NOW!" he ordered, pointing at a Freelancer scientist who nods and starts typing on the console she's situated at.

Jaune turns to the holographic table and watches as the scientist brings up a widespread holographic image of Vale and Mountain Glenn. Beneath the images, he can see several subway tunnels that lead out from Mount Glenn, but he focuses more on the lone highlighted subway tunnel which leads straight to Vale from Mountain Glenn and he notices how it ends directly at the centre of the city. The only good news is that the blast zone is by an open area in the city which is usually used for special events or speeches. "Red Team, I'll be ordering an evacuation around the blast zone so to avoid any civilian casualties and I'll be supplying payloads if I see that train blow a hole to the surface."

"Payloads, sir?" asked Girlie for confirmation of what payloads they could possibly be supplying. She doesn't want to stick around if her allies are going to be dropping down bombs on where she might possibly be.

"Caustic's gas" explained Jaune, getting a sigh of relief from a few members of Red Team. They can use their suit's personal supply of oxygen so to not breathe in Caustic's poisonous gas so they're more or less safe. They've never witnessed what Nox Gas does to a person, but the fact that it can kill Grimm is reason enough to believe that they don't want to even get a whiff of the deadly substance. "Wither that train moves or not, I do not want it anywhere near the city. Do you understand, Red Team?"

"Yes sir!" agreed the entirety of Red Team through the communication system before disconnecting.

Jaune turns to the holographic window and begins interacting with it by using his own hands. With a flick of his wrist, he brings up two separate holographic screens which begin to ring, indicating that he is calling two of his Freelancers. He doesn't have to wait long for both of the Freelancers to pick up his call. Once they accept the call, the masked faces of Caustic and Locus appear on the screens. "Locus, I want sector 3B cleared up of all civilians and a roadblock to be placed around it. I want troops on standby as well. You might be getting some visitors very soon."

Locus nods from the video screen. "Yes sir." Some might ask for a reason why Jaune is asking to keep the area cleared of civilians, but Locus isn't one of those people who question their superior. Instead, he cancels the call and sets out to inform his troops of their orders.

Jaune then turns to the impatiently waiting scientist, Caustic. "Caustic, how much Nox Gas do you have on hand?"

"Enough to kill half the Kingdom" informed Caustic with a deep and threatening chuckle.

If Jaune is disturbed by the scientist's cackle, he doesn't show it. "Good. I want you and a handful of others to gather several canisters of it and plant them in the centre of sector 3B. If things go wrong, we might be finding ourselves with a large hole with Grimm spilling out of it. For as long as that hole isn't filled with concrete, I want it filled with Nox Gas" Jaune ordered the scientist. Some might not like the idea of having deadly gas released into the centre of the city, but Jaune isn't worried of accidentally causing civilian casualties. By evacuating all civilians from the area, there will be no one within the general range of the gas to be effected by it, other than his Freelancers who are all supplied with Mjolnir suits of armour which provides them with an hour's worth of oxygen. Afterwards, the gas will then soon disperse and leave the surrounding area unscathed.

Caustic grins from underneath his gas mask. Who is he to deny his General who is in need of his powerful gas? Not only will it kill any incoming Grimm, but it will also provide him with plenty of priceless data. "Consider it done, General." Caustic cancels the video call, allowing Jaune to continue with making preparations.

**xXx**

"You heard the General, lets move out" exclaimed Leader. "Snipes, I want you with us for this."

"On my way!" stated Snipes as he stands up from his kneeling position. Taking a few steps back from the edge, Snipes cracks his neck before he begins running. Once close enough, he jumps off the side of the building he is on, uncaring over how he is now free-falling off of a building that is made up of nearly a hundred storey floors. Just before Snipes crashes to the floor and becomes a bloody smear, he activates his armour's jet boosts to slow down his descent. Crouching to his knees upon landing, the team's resident sniper quickly stands back up and runs to the direction of his team while making sure to watch out for any hostiles, wither they be of White Fang or Grimm descent.

"Move out where?" asked Demo Man, looking around the abandoned street. "We don't know where the entrance is to the caverns."

"Probably should've asked him" said Girlie, glancing at the bloody corpse of the White Fang member they interrogated. "You know, before I sliced his throat open and made him choke on his own blood."

"No need. We're making our own entrance" stated Leader, much to the chagrin of Girlie and Sleeveless. Demo Man, Sharkface, Chain Girl and Chain Guy grin underneath their helmets.

Snipes soon arrives after running over nine city blocks of the abandoned city. Once he reunites with his team, he quickly lowers his Sniper Rifle and falls to the floor, panting in exhaustion. Sleeveless shows little sympathy for his comrade and kicks him in his side, making the sniper groan in pain. "Ran... nine... blocks... give me... a minute..." he panted.

"There's no time to rest, Snipes. We've got a train to stop" told Leader, much to the sniper's annoyance.

Sighing in acceptance, Snipes pushes himself back up to his feet and picks up his Sniper Rifle. Once back on his feet, he sees Demo Man messing with something in the middle of the street. "What on Remnant is he doing?" he asked Girlie who is watching Demo Man work with her arms folded across her chest.

"He's setting up an explosive device. We don't know where the entrance is to the underground caverns so instead, we're going to make one of our own" she answered without looking away from the explosive device. She trusts Demo Man with all manner of explosives, but she can't help but be wary of anything that can kill her in a near instant. Throughout her four year military career, she has seen a few Freelancers get overconfident because they possess Aura and a suit of Mjolnir armour. That overconfidence usually ends up with them suffering painful deaths. With Aura and Mjolnir armour combined, every Freelancer becomes a power house in their own right, but only if they know how to use them both correctly. She use to be just as overconfident as well, but that is until she once saw a Freelancer get shot through the neck by a bandit sniper while on a recon mission. Even with the possession of the suit of armour, the Freelancer died because he didn't have his Aura up, thinking his armour made him invincible without it. Ever since then, she has learned to never be overconfident and to always keep her Aura active, no matter the situation.

Demo Man stands up and wipes his hands together. "Well, that should do it. Just give me the word and I'll blow a nice little hole into the floor" he said, walking over to Leader while leaving the connected pieces of explosives which he has rigged in the middle of the street.

"Only a little hole?" smirked Leader, noting a lot of Dust being implemented into the explosive device.

"I use that term, lightly. I'll be amazed if the entire street doesn't collapse on itself" remarked Demo Man before he takes back his Tactical Shotgun from its position on his back. "By the way, I wouldn't want to stay around here when that bomb goes off, unless you want to find yourself missing... an arm." He looks at his mechanical arm and realizes his poor choice of words.

Leader ignores said choice of words and nods before he addresses the entirety of Red Team. "You heard him folks. Keep back from the explosive" he said, jogging a good distance away from the explosive with the rest of his team following behind him.

From two blocks away, the entirety of Red Team are taking cover behind a series of buildings while Demo Man, Leader and Sharkface look out from the corner of a building.

"We all set?" asked Demo Man, holding onto the detonation switch with his non-mechanical hand.

"We're all good. Let it rip" answered Leader as he braces for the explosion.

And the moment Demo Man presses the switch, nobody in Red Team is disappointed by the size of the explosion.

**xXx**

Neo can be found smiling on a crate full of Dust as she watches the White Fang grunts move the explosives into the train. As much as she wants to be by Roman's side, she has been tasked to stay underground in Mount Glenn and make sure the White Fang don't do something stupid like accidentally set off one of the bombs.

Neo sighs in boredom, hating how there's nothing fun to do in Mountain Glenn and especially not when her only company are a load of racist Faunus who look like they want nothing more than to gut her. Not that she cares about what they say or do, but she just wishes one of them has the balls to actually pick a fight with her. With how weak these guys are, it would entertain her for a couple seconds at least.

Just as she's considering sneaking off somewhere to take a nap, the sound of a loud explosion causes her to jump up from her crate while the earth seems to shake all around her. Turning around, Neo widens her eyes when she sees a massive hole in the ceiling which is over a mile away from her and the train. While she has seen a few sink holes open up on the surface of Mount Glenn, the large explosion is definitely not natural. She soon finds out who caused the explosion when she sees a group of armoured people jump down from the hole in the ceiling.

Recognizing the armour that belongs to the Freelancers, Neo allows a growing smirk to stretch across her lips, realizing that she's going to be having some _**fun **_sooner than she thought she would.

**xXx**

The moment their feet touch the floor, Leader begins giving out orders to his troops. "Provide us some heavy fire!" he ordered, glancing at the Chain siblings who are more than happy to do so. Before the White Fang can realize what's going on and gather themselves, Chain Guy and Chain Girl fire upon them with their Heavy Machine Gun Turrets.

"The rest of us, move up! I don't want to see that train moving!" ordered Leader as he starts running towards the direction of the train while everyone else follows after him, firing at any nearby White Fang while they do so. With such a large amount of White Fang terrorists in the area, there would usually be a lot more enemy gunfire, but the Chain siblings are doing a good job making sure the terrorists are either gunned down or taking cover.

However, the White Fang soon begin to counterattack the Freelancers and return fire with rifles and grenades.

A White Fang grunt reels his arm back and throws an Ice Dust grenade at the incoming Freelancers, just before Snipes blows a hole in his forehead. The grenade flies in the air and would've caused a mass explosion of ice and frost which could have harmed a member of Red Team, if not for Demo Man catching the grenade with his mechanical arm. Reeling his arm back, Demo Man throws the grenade back at the White Fang and watches as it explodes, shrouding a trio of terrorists in solid ice.

An explosion to their left causes the Freelancers to run over to a pile of large rubble for cover. This doesn't stop Girlie and Snipes from returning fire while everyone else searches for the source of the explosion.

"There! Rocket launcher on top of the train!" shouted Sharkface once he sees a pair of White Fang terrorists standing on top of the train with rocket launchers. A nearby explosion has Sharkface crouch down, hating how he isn't in close enough range to use his Flamethrower.

"Sleeveless!" shouted Leader who knows he doesn't need to explain anything else.

True enough, Sleeveless aims his own Rocket Launcher at the pair of White Fang grunts and unlike themselves, they don't have any cover to hide behind. Pulling the trigger, Sleeves watches as the rocket flies across the air and collides with one of the terrorists, causing an explosion that kills the both of them, as well as slightly damage the train carriage.

Apparently, seeing either their comrades killed or the train damaged causes the White Fang to begin retreating onto the train. Much to the horror of Red Team, they see the train begin to move. Knowing what is on the train, they begin to hustle towards the train which is beginning to gain speed.

However, there still stands nearly three dozen White Fang terrorists who are preferring to keep firing at them so they can't get on the fleeing train.

"Chain Guy and Chain Girl, I want you two to stay here and make sure no other White Fang make it out alive!" ordered Leader through the comms. All he hears back are their giggles and sobs, but at this point, he understands that is their way of agreeing.

Sharkface growls in annoyance when a bullet bounces off his right shoulder, making him stumble back for a second before he continues his trek to the train. Running straight through the White Fang defences, he pulls the trigger on his Flamethrower and is delighted to see the flames pour out of his weapon and set a White Fang member on fire. His screams brings a smile to Sharkface's... face

Running into a group of White Fang terrorists, Leader ducks underneath a sword swing from one of them and runs past him entirely as he quickly hears the terrorist scream in pain once Sharkface sets him aflame. He prefers to clothesline the next closest terrorist and he feels the Faunus's neck snap when he hits the floor. Rolling forward to avoid incoming gunfire, Leader fires back at the terrorists with his Battle Rifle and manages to kill two of them before the others take cover.

Not like cover does them any good when Sleeveless jumps over them with his Rocket Launcher aiming down at them. With a pull of the trigger, he causes an explosion that kills the lot of them, while also giving the boost Sleeveless needs to fly up onto the train.

Girlie brandishes both of her knives and runs at a trio of White Fang grunts who are too busy firing at Sharkface to see her. By the time they do notice her, it's far too late as she begins swinging her knives at the closest one. The Faunus terrorist soon finds her throat sliced open and uses one hand to grab her bloody wound to somewhat stop the flow of blood. Girlie than kicks the dying terrorist into her comrade, knocking them both on the floor while the Freelancer charges at the lone standing terrorist.

Said terrorist aims his rifle at the Freelancer and is just about to fire, but Girlie's movements prove to be faster than his own as she slices her left blade upwards, cutting through the rifle like butter and destroying it. She then kicks forward and skids past the Faunus while leaving a deep gash across the right side of his stomach. The terrorist opens his mouth to cry in pain, but a blade pierces through the back of his skull and peaks out of his open mouth, silencing him forever.

Pulling the blade out of the man's skull, Girlie ignores the corpse fall to the ground as she turns to the terrorist she knocked to the floor earlier and sees him pick himself up. Just a he raises himself up to his two feet, Girlie runs up and slices her right knife across his chest, but is somewhat surprised to see it skid off his skin, indicating that he has his Aura up. Not that it stops Girlie as she delivers a series of knife attacks of the Faunus who is too slow to even hope to block one of her strikes. Girlie drops down low and performs a leg sweep on the terrorist who drops onto his back in pain. Having lowered his Aura enough, Girlie jumps up and stabs a knife down on the terrorist's chest and is happy to see her blade pierce through his shattered Aura, killing him near instantly.

Standing up, she runs to the train and notices a White Fang grunt who is on his hands and knees after Sleeveless knocked him back with a rocket. Running towards him, Girlie uses the terrorist's back as a springboard and jumps off of him, landing on top of the moving train. The fact that her heavy suit of armour crushes the terrorist's spine is only a bonus.

Sharkface makes it to the train as well, but before he can jump on it, bullets begin hitting him in the back, causing him to stumble. Growling in annoyance, Sharkface turns around to see five White Fang grunts firing at him. Much to his pleasure, he notices them walking towards him while firing, thinking that they have him pinned down. He shows them otherwise by firing his Flamethrower at them and setting each one of them aflame. After watching the flaming terrorists run around in pain for a few seconds, the satisfied Sharkface turns back to the moving train and uses his armour's jet boosts to jump on top of a carriage.

Snipe rolls forward to avoid gunfire from the left side and the moment he rolls to his knees, he turns and fires his Sniper Rifle at the firing terrorists. Even those who have Aura collapse with holes in their bodies, due to the firing power of his weapon. Once he's sure the terrorists are dead, he runs and jumps onto the train. Once he lands on top of a carriage, he turns around and starts firing at the remaining White Fang terrorists so to assist his teammates who haven't gotten on the train yet.

A White Fang grunt opens fire on the Freelancers who are standing on the train which gives Leader the opportunity to run up behind him and punch the Faunus in the back of the head. The terrorist collapses onto his chest and groans in pain while he slowly lifts his throbbing head up. Leader makes sure he stays down by firing his Battle Rifle down at the back of the terrorist's head, killing him instantly. Glancing at his right, Leader fires at some more White Fang terrorists before he jumps onto the back of the moving train.

Elbowing a White Fang grunt across the face before using his Tactical Shotgun to blow a hole into their chest, Demo Man then sees Leader climb on the train and notices how it's almost out of the cavern. Ignoring a grenade that explodes near him, Demo Man runs towards the speeding train. Just as the train is about to leave the underground cavern, Demo Man makes a jump for the back of the train and he would've missed his chance to getting on, if not for Leader grabbing Demo Man's mechanical arm and pulling him up onto the train.

Demo Man moans in exhaustion and ignores the smoke wafting from his left shoulder, courtesy of a grenade that blew up closer that he liked. "Thanks for that" said Demo Man as he stands back up to his feet. He has no worries of possibly falling off the moving train as the Gravity Dust in his boots keeps him secure on the train carriage.

"Don't mention it" said Leader as he picks up his Battle Rifle. Leader looks around and sees that everyone has made it safely onto the train. "Let's get to the front of this train and stop it before it gets to Vale" he told before he begins running up the train.

Red Team follows after Leader who runs up the carriages of the train while jumping over the gaps between each carriage.

"You think the Chain siblings will be alright on their own? We did leave quite a few White Fang with them" asked Snipe, keeping behind most of his teammates.

"They'll be fine" said Sharkface, waving off Snipe's concerns. "It should be the White Fang you should be worrying about."

Seeing movement along the train, Snipe stops and looks through the scope of his Sniper Rifle. "Speaking of worrying about the White Fang, here they come!"

Red Team look up the train and just as Snipe says, they see White Fang grunts climbing up onto the top of the carriages. However, the Freelancers do a double take when they see an actual Atlesian Paladin climb on top of the carriages before it runs straight towards them.

"They've got an Atlesian Paladin!? How did they get something like that?" shouted Demo Man who recognizes the large piece of Atlesian machinery. Atlas is very privy when it comes to their tech so he would like to know how the terrorist organization has managed to get their hands on it.

While surprised by the discovery of the White Fang possessing some high-end Atlesian tech, Leader doesn't falter as he begins giving out orders. "Snipe and Sleeveless, stick with me. Everyone else, I want you to go down through the carriages and stop this train!"

"You're not going to hear me complaining" exclaimed Demo Man as he runs ahead of the group before he slides down through the gap between the carriages. He's soon followed by Girlie and Sharkface while Leader, Snipe and Sleeveless jump over the gap and run towards the incoming White Fang.

**( Vale )**

"What's going on?" asked Ruby once she and her team see a roadblock of sorts ahead of them. They have been hoping to look around Vale and see the students from the other Hunter Academies arrive for the Vytal Festival, but they soon find their path blocked by armed Freelancers.

Concrete barricades have been set up to block the entire road with eight Freelancers standing watch and making sure nobody gets pass the blockade. If that isn't enough to deter folks, there is an armoured vehicle sitting in the middle of the barricade. While it may have four wheels, it's definitely not any car anyone from Team RWBY has seen, including Ruby. Said vehicle lacks any sort of doors and appears to be armoured, although not enough to slow it down. While it possesses a driver's seat and a passenger seat, what really has the vehicle differ from other cars is the large turret that is installed in the back of it.

Said vehicle is known as an M12 Light Reconnaissance Vehicle, but since that's quite a mouthful, the Freelancers usually call it a Warthog.

**( M12 Light Reconnaissance Vehicle - Halo Series )**

Of course, the sudden roadblock has garnered the attention of everyday people and the ire of those who use the road regularly. A crowd has gathered in front of the blockade with some people demanding answers, but one of the Freelancers merely says it's a safety protocol. Not like anyone in Team RWBY believes that.

Yang nudges her younger sister with her elbow and points to the right of the crowd. "How about we just ask them what's going on?"

Ruby looks in the direction her sister is pointing at and sees Pyrrha standing by the back of the crowd with her teammates. Agreeing with her older sister, Ruby leads her team to Pyrrha. While walking over to them, Pyrrha happens to see them coming. "Hey, Pyrrha. Do you know anything about this?" she asked, curiously.

Pyrrha shrugs her shoulders. "I'm not entirely sure. They said that the area is being sectioned off for security reasons. Nobody has been able to find out why, but I have been seeing other Freelancers driving through with large crates."

"Do you know what's in those crates?" asked Blake, finding the whole situation suspicious. _"What are the Freelancers hiding?" _

Pyrrha shakes her head. "Sorry, but they were sealed shut when we saw them. I tried to ask about it, but they've been ignoring me for a while now."

"I said no, Nora!"

"But, Ren~, that's the street where _Pancake Palace _is."

"I can make you pancakes when we can back home."

"Fine~."

"I see Nora has her priorities on straight" chuckled Yang in amusement.

Pyrrha chuckles awkwardly before sighing in defeat. "She has been needy for pancakes for a while now. We were going to bring her to Pancake Palace, but as you can see, the Freelancers blocked off the road to it."

Blake looks over the security blockade and hums in thought.

This isn't missed by Weiss who glares at the Faunus. "Don't even think about it, Blake. You're not going to try sneak past the blockade."

Pretending that she hasn't nearly jumped after Weiss's accurate accusation, Blake shakes her head in denial. "I was thinking of doing no such thing!"

"Yes you were. I can see the suspicious glint in your eyes and whenever I see it, that usually ends with you sneaking into places you shouldn't be sneaking into" told Weiss, remembering the many times in which Blake ran off to find something about the White Fang. From her teammate's track record, Weiss knows that if Blake tries to go investigating, the Faunus will eventually find herself in a firefight with the Freelancers and unlike the White Fang, Blake won't be able to win.

For someone who specializes in stealth, Blake is the one who often gets spotted by the enemy.

Blake frowns and decides to stop pretending, seeing as Weiss has seen straight through her. "Fine, I was, but aren't you just a little bit curious about what they're doing as well?"

"Not curious enough to try and undermine the Freelancer's authority" exclaimed Weiss while throwing her arms up in the air. "Do remember that you'll be severely punished if you're caught working against them while in the Kingdom's territory."

"That's only if I'm caught."

"I said no!"

**xXx**

While inside one of the many train carriages, Girlie, Sharkface and Demo Man soon find themselves fighting against White Fang grunts who try to stop them from getting to the front of the train.

Demo Man ducks underneath a sword swing and uses his mechanical hand to grab onto the White Fang grunt by the throat. As the train carriages only supply him with very little room to move in, Demo Man decides to use the terrorist in his hand as a Faunus shield. It's not surprising that even though he is holding up one of their comrades like a shield, none of the other terrorists stop shooting. As his shield soaks up bullets and dies, Demo Man uses his free hand to fire his Tactical Shotgun at the other terrorists who decide to fall back, although one doesn't make it far after Demo Man shoots him in the back of his head, causing it to blow up in a explosion of blood and brain matter.

As Demo Man throws aside the bloody corpse that he's carrying, Sharkface runs past him and goes into the next carriage. Once he opens the door to the carriage, Sharkface is met with gunfire from a squad of White Fang terrorists who are standing on the other side of the somewhat empty room. Unfortunately for the White Fang terrorists, they lack the necessary firepower to pierce through Sharkface's heavily armoured Mjolnir suit.

So, when they see the Freelancer merely take a step back because of their gunfire, they feel a sense of dread fill their bodies as they realize how useless their weapons really are. The Faunus decide to retreat even further up the train, but Sharkface aims his Flamethrower to fry them before they can fully escape the carriage, ignoring the object in the middle of the carriage.

Just as Sharkface is about to pull the trigger and douse the entire carriage with fire, Demo Man jumps on his back. "You idiot! That's a bomb!" yelled Demo Man, having plenty of experience to know what's a bomb and what's not. He knows that if Sharkface did douse the carriage in flames, it would cause the unstable Dust in the bomb to prematurely set off, killing them all. With the carriages connected together, it might even cause a chain reaction and set off the other explosives on the train.

Right as Demo Man manages to stop Sharkface from blowing themselves up, they hear the carriage behind them disconnect with the rest of the train. Turning around, both Freelancers see Girlie jump over from the disconnected carriage which starts to slow down. It doesn't take more than a few seconds for the carriage to suddenly explode and blow up a hole to the surface. Once the explosion sudsides, the three Freelancers can see Beowolves, Ursai, Creeps and even a Death Scorpion drop down from the hole before they begin following after the train.

Demo Man widens his eyes in horror at the sight. "All this Grimm are only from one hole?" He can only imagine the army that will be led to Vale if all the other explosions go off.

Girlie turns away from the terrifying sight of so many Grimm and faces the explosive expert of the group. "Can you disarm to bombs?" she asked, knowing that if Demo Man can disarm the explosives then there will be less Grimm to worry about.

Demo Man's response doesn't fill Girlie with much confidence. "I can, but I need time!"

Unfortunately, time is something that they don't have and it's shown when they hear the carriage they're standing in disconnect from the rest of the train.

Sharkface turns to his teammates. "We need to go, now!" he exclaimed before running through the door of the carriage and jumps to the next carriage. The good thing is that the White Fang grunts aren't in the carriage, having ran off farther up the train.

Demo Man and Girlie follow after him with Demo Man managing to jump the gap easily enough, although Girlie has to use her armour's jet boosts to make up the increasing distance between the train carriages.

Girlie rolls across the floor and lands in a crouch. She ignores the explosion from the carriage behind her and runs ahead. "Lets get moving and stop this train."

**xXx**

On the top of the moving train, Leader fires at the incoming White Fang until they are so close that he has no choice but to fight them in close quarters. Leaning to the left to avoid an axe swing, the Freelancer headbutts the attacking terrorist, not only breaking her nose but her Grimm mask as well. The blow has her stumble backwards and much to her unfortunate luck, she loses her footing and falls off the side of the moving train. Her screams quickly stop when her body hits the ground.

The Atlesian Paladin runs towards Leader and just as it's about to drop its fist down on the Freelancer, a rocket collides with its chest, courtesy of Sleeveless and his Rocket Launcher. Unlike normal Rocket Launchers, Sleeveless is in possession of a M41 Surface-to-Surface Rocket Medium Anti-Vehicle/Assault Weapon which has a magazine size of two rockets.

**( M41 Surface -to-Surface Rocket Medium Anti-Vehicle/Assault Weapon - Halo Series )**

So when the Atlesian Paladin stumbles back with obvious damage done to its body, it is unprepared for another rocket which causes the front of its body to explode outwards. The resulting explosion not only kills the Paladin's pilot, but also kills a few nearby White Fang grunts who are too slow to avoid the collapsing mech which throws them off of the train. If the fall didn't kill them, then the pursuing Grimm definitely did.

Leader would've thanked Sleeveless, if not for the remaining White Fang grunts who are still intending to kill them. Thankfully, the White Fang grunt who is aiming his rifle at him soon collapses once Snipes fires a bullet through his right eye socket.

"You're welcome!" exclaimed Snipe who is crouching while three carriages behind Sleeveless and Leader.

Sleeveless loads another magazine of rockets into his Rocket Launcher, but since he doesn't see anymore Paladins, he decides to not use it against the grunts and pockets it on his back through the use of magnets on the back of his armour. Punching his right fist into his left palm, he runs at the remaining Faunus terrorists who are surprised by the speed of the muscular Freelancer.

The female White Fang terrorist brandishes a pistol in her left hand and a short sword in her right. She aims and fires at the running Sleeveless, but the bullets either bounce off his advanced suit of armour or his Aura which he has protecting his exposed arms. Realizing that shooting at him is futile, she swings her blade at him when he's close enough, only for the Freelancer to catch the blade in his hand. In panic, she raises her pistol to fire at him in point-blank range, only for him to grab her firing arm and raise it above her head so she misses. She struggles under his strong grip, but not for long because Sleeveless spartan kicks her backwards and into the chest of a fellow White Fang comrade with both of them falling on their backs. Both try to pick themselves up, but by the time they're on their knees, Sleeveless runs up and grabs the both of them by their throats, using his strength to choke the both of them. That's before he suddenly spreads out his arms and throws the two terrorists over both sides of the train.

Leader fires and kills another White Fang terrorist before he empties out the spent magazine in his Battle Rifle and reaches to his waist for another. Only for him to grasp nothing and he quickly figures out that he has no more ammunition for his rifle. The mistake costs the Freelancer because that means he has no way to fire back at the three White Fang grunts who open fire at himself. With no cover and no weapon to his name, Leader has no choice but to run back to the gap between the carriages for cover. This gives the terrorists ample time to fire in his back and while the Mjolnir armour is highly advanced, there is only so much damage it can take. A lucky bullet manages to pierce through the back of Leader's left leg and while the Freelancer may have his Aura up to protect him, the impact can still be felt, making him lose his balance and fall down the gap between the carriages.

The White Fang grunts have no time to check to see if they actually killed the Freelancer or not, because Snipes opens fire at them from a distance and if that isn't enough, Sleeveless punches one of their comrades through the roof of a carriage, leaving them as the only remaining living terrorists who are standing on the roof of the speeding train.

As the White Fang try to suppress Sleeveless, they don't see Leader hanging in between the gap of two carriages, having caught the edge before he could fall off. While he is sure his Mjolnir armour would help him survive falling off the train, the ever increasing Grimm that are following the train will surely tear him apart in seconds.

Hearing the sound of explosions and cries of White Fang grunts above him, Leader decides to swing into the carriage and leave Sleeveless and Snipe on the roof.

**xXx**

Sharkface ignores the sound of Girlie putting a bullet through the head of a terrorist behind him as he steps into the next carriage, noting a lack of explosives inside it. Instead, he sees some little twerp on the other side of the carriage, swinging what looks to be an umbrella in her hand.

The arrogant smirk on her face definitely annoys Sharkface, but something else about her annoys him even more. "Pick a hair colour and stick with it!" he shouted, referring to the girl's pink, brown and white hair. He lifts his heavy Flamethrower and without hesitation, fires it at the multicolored woman. While she may not be wearing the traditional White Fang uniform or sport any Faunus features, she is clearly in league with the terrorist organization. Why else would she be on a train filled with White Fang and deadly explosives? Besides, the bloodthirst pouring out of her is an obvious sign that she's no ally to him or the Freelancers.

Luckily for him, the train carriage doesn't have any bombs in it so he's allowed to use his Flamethrower without fear of blowing himself up.

However, the intense stream of flames he fires doesn't faze Neo who turns around with her umbrella leaning over her shoulder. Just as the flames are about to engulf her, she opens up her umbrella which blocks the flames from downright roasting her, although she hides the frown of discomfort as she feels the intense heat wash over her body.

Sharkface stops firing and waits for the flames to lessen so he can see if he has killed her or not. He quickly finds out that he hasn't once he hears the sound of shattering glass on his left side. Before he can turn his head, Neo's umbrella smacks against the side of his helmet, forcing the Freelancer turn his head to the other side after suffering from the strong blow. With his head still facing the right wall, he blindly swings his left arm at his opponent who backflips away to a safe distance.

Growling, Sharkface turns and aims his Flamethrower and fires at her. The flames scorch the ground, but the moment the fire reaches the woman, she shatters like glass and disappears. Sharkface soon finds out where she is when he hears the sound of shattering glass behind him. A sudden weight is pressed down on him and a pair of legs quickly wrap around his throat. All of a sudden, he feels his weight shift and soon finds himself flying across the carriage after his opponent flips and throws him with her legs.

Sharkface bounces off the floor several times before skidding to a stop. Looking up, he only has enough time to widen his eyes before Nero's umbrella smacks him in his face, causing him to stagger backwards. His staggering only gets worse as Neo lands blow for blow on his person with her umbrella and she even manages to dent a few parts of his armour, due to the strength of her blows. Having enough of being pushed around, Sharkface slams his foot down and stands his ground. The next time Neo swings her umbrella at him, he charges at the multicoloured woman, intending to tackle her and use his weight against her.

Unfortunately, when he tackles her, she shatters like glass again, making Sharkface fall forward and roll across the ground. He quickly stands back up and turns around to see the woman standing by the other side of the carriage, acting as if nothing has happened. He realizes that they're back to where they started before the fight, only now, he is sweating and his Mjolnir armour is pretty banged up. _"This bitch and that Semblance of hers" _he thought, glaring at his enemy.

Neo can feel the Freelancer glare at her from through his helmet's visor and responds by waving at him cheekily. It's only because of her instincts that Neo manages to tilt her head to the right to avoid the knife that has been thrown at her from the carriage door behind Sharkface. She frowns at the female Freelancer who has decided to ruin her fun.

"Girlie" grunted Sharkface as he watches his teammate step ahead of his crouching form with her second knife in her left hand and a M6G pistol in her right.

**( M6G Personal Defense Weapon System - Halo Series )**

"You guys go ahead, I've got this" told Girlie, glaring at the smugly smirking Neo who is twirling her umbrella with her index finger.

"No, she's mine" remarked Sharkface as he stands back up onto his two feet so he can continue the fight.

Girlie scoffs over her teammate's bravado. "Obviously. Just go and stop this train before it reaches the city."

Sharkface opens his mouth to protest, but the sound of an explosion behind him has the Freelancer falter. Growling in acceptance, Sharkface turns to Demo Man and tilts his head forward. "Let's go." Demo Man nods and both Freelancers run down the carriage with Neo not even attempting to stop them, although Sharkface admits to having the urge of swinging at Neo when he runs pass her. Once the two leave the carriage, Girlie and Neo size each other up.

Confidentially, Neo strolls across the carriage towards Girlie while she continues swinging her umbrella around. The multicolored woman barely makes it halfway across before Girlie suddenly aims and fires a lone shot at her forehead. However, the moment the bullet connects with Nero's forehead, she shatters like glass, revealing that Neo has used her Semblance again.

Not like this disturbs Girlie who without looking, aims her pistol to her right and open fires at nothing but the wall. The sound of glass shattering echoes throughout the carriage as the bullets shatter Neo's illusion with three connecting with the woman's chest. After the third bullet, Neo rolls to her right and opens her umbrella to block the rest of Girlie's gunfire.

After emptying her pistol's entire magazine, Girlie empties it and replaces it with a new and full magazine. Once she reloads her weapon, Girlie notices Neo's questioning gaze from behind her protective umbrella. "Surprised that I knew where you were?" To Neo's nod, Girlie decides to admit how to her opponent. She taps the side of her helmet with her M6G Pistol. "I got Motion Tracker installed in my armour. It doesn't matter if you use an illusion or not, I'll still be able to find you where ever you might be hiding."

Neo blinks, but understands how the Freelancer is tracking her. Luckily, she doesn't need to rely on her illusions to kill her targets and so, she closes her umbrella. Smirking, Neo twirls her umbrella and takes a fighting stance. With a press of a hidden switch, Neo extends the hidden blade from the tip of her umbrella.

Girlie takes a fighting stance of her own by crouching low with her knife hand in front of her chest and her pistol-wielding hand resting by her side. "Bring it, bitch!"

**( Vale )**

"Are the preparations ready for our guests?"

Caustic folds his arms across his large chest and nods. "Indeed they are. I have fifteen canisters filled with my Nox Gas spread across the sector and ready to kill any unfortunate soul that might pop out from underground. Just give the signal and I'll set them off at once."

With his arms folded behind his back, Jaune furrows his brows as he looks at the dangerous scientist. "Let's wait for Red Team to make it out before we set off the gas. The final explosion might damage their suits and cut their personal oxygen supply. The last thing I want is to accidentally gas my own troops."

Caustic sighs and shakes his head in disappointment. "You and your bleeding heart."

Jaune ignores the scientist and turns to Locus. "Locus, I take it that everyone has been evacuated and the roadblocks have been set up around the sector?"

Locus salutes the General. "Yes, sir. All civilians have been evacuated out of the area. Roadblocks have been set up and are securing all nearby roads."

"Good. Make sure nobody gets in until the situation is under control and that includes any Hunters. If the explosion does go off, they're likely to blindly run in and get caught in the gas" told Jaune. Unlike his Freelancers, the Hunters don't have any way to not breathe in the poisonous Nox Gas. Aura is great and all, but it only protects the outside of the body from physical damage. If they do breathe in the Nox Gas, the gas will kill them on the inside and their Aura will be able too do nothing as they die a very painful death.

Locus intends to respond, but stops and raises a hand to the side of the helmet, indicating to Jaune and Caustic that someone is communicating with him through the comms system. After a minute of waiting, Locus dorps his hand and looks back at the General. "Sir, I've just been informed that there are reporters by a roadblock and are asking questions. What should we tell them?"

"Inform them that this is just a security protocol and that the roads will reopen by the end of the day" ordered Jaune with Locus nodding and relaying the message back to his subordinates at the roadblock.

Jaune waits for Locus to relay the message before speaking. "Are the troops prepared for the incoming threat?"

"All Freelancers have been informed of the situation. As we speak, I have two dozen men and women surrounding the possible blast zone and they are prepared to gun down any Grimm that might emerge from the hole" informed Locus, much to Jaune's satisfaction.

Jaune has personally seen the effects of Caustic's Nox Gas and while it is the main deterrent against the Grimm, he isn't willing to fully rely on the deadly gas. It's still unclear to how the gas effects the other Grimm species and he can't risk allowing any Grimm to run amok in Vale. What he can rely on are his Freelancers who he has placed in the sector of the blast zone. They are stationed outside the blast radius of the possible explosion so they don't get caught in it and with their oxygen supplies, they won't be effected by Caustic's Nox Gas and so, he doesn't have to worry about them.

What he does have to worry about is Red Team.

Just ten minutes ago, a Bullhead has collected Chain Girl and Chain Guy who were left behind to deal with the remaining White Fang grunts in Mount Glenn. Through the comms, they told him about how the rest of Red Team have climbed on the train which is now on the way to Vale. While it's difficult to understand the Chain sibling's weeping and giggling, he has been able to translate their personal language with the help of Leader a few months ago.

If the other members of Red Team are still in that train when it arrives to Vale, the resulting explosion might possibly damage their suits and oxygen supplies. With no oxygen in their suits, they will be forced to breathe in Nox Gas and Jaune simply can't allow that to happen. Which is why he wants to wait for the rest of Red Team to be safely secured from any wreckage before activating the gas. Good thing that he has two dozen heavily armed and armoured Freelancers ready to gun down any Grimm that might emerge from the floor. There are also medical personal nearby who are there to aid any members of Red Team who might be injured during the final explosion.

Obviously, he will also be there to help fight off the incoming Grimm and if need be, assist the medical personal with his Semblance.

With everything ready for the Grimm's arrival, Jaune can only wait to see if Red Team manage to stop the train or not.

**xXx**

Falling to the floor on her back, Girlie cries out in pain when Neo stabs her blade through her left arm, managing to pierce through her armour and damaged Aura. The blade in her arm has Girlie involuntarily let go of her knife, leaving her weaponless as she has ran out of ammo for her pistol five minutes ago.

Sweating, but still grinning, Neo roughly pulls her blade out of the Freelancer's arm and raises the blade above her head, intending to stab it straight through Girlie's visor. So enthralled with killing the Freelancer, Neo doesn't see the other individual until it's too late.

"Heads up!" shouted Leader as he runs over and swings his fist at the surprised Neo in the face, throwing her back to the end of the carriage. "Girlie, you alright?" he asked, crouching down to help up his teammate.

"I'm fine" she hissed while using her undamaged arm to push herself up to her feet. She bends down and picks up her knife with her right hand and holds it out in front of her. All the while, leaving her left arm to dangle by her side. With the little Aura she has left, she manages to stop the bleeding, but she still doesn't have enough left over to fully heal the stab wound.

Leader chuckles as he brandishes two collapsible hatchets and takes a fighting stance of his own. "You were always a bad liar."

Having collided with the metal door, Neo rubs her sore back and glares at the second Freelancer who has interrupted her _fun. _Picking up her dropped umbrella, Neo looks up at the two Freelancers and frowns. She has had fun fighting the female Freelancer and wouldn't mind taking on the new guy, but she can feel her Aura level is down quite low, having taking a few kicks and knife attacks during her previous fight.

Deciding that she has had enough fun for today, Neo jumps up in the air and suddenly vanishes from sight.

Both Freelancers remain tense as they study their Motion Trackers. After a moment of not seeing Neo's body signature on the tracker, they relax, if only slightly.

"Bitch" muttered Girlie, feeling none too happy after getting her ass handed to her by the sadistic little girl. She can already hear Sharkface's stupid smug laughter once he hears about this.

"Come on, let's get to th-" Leader is interrupted when the emergency brakes are suddenly used, causing the train to suddenly slow down. The sudden shift in speed has Girlie and Leader lose their balance and fall on the floor. Realizing that someone has made it to the front of the train and activated the emergency brakes has the two bruised and sore Freelancers elated. That is until they hear Demo Man's voice through the comms.

"BRACE FOR IMPACT!"


	8. Breach

**Author's Note: Some people are wondering what's the point of the Mjolnir armour because they don't have the shields from Halo. I'm not using the same armour from Halo, but rather the armour from Red Vs Blue which lacks the shields. If you watch the fight scenes between the Freelancers and Insurrectionists in Red Vs Blue then you'll notice that they can shoot or stab through the armour easily enough. The suits in this fic enhance the Freelancers strength, speed and whatnot, but they are not invincible. Someone strong like Neo can do plenty of damage on the armour, especially since they don't have shields. Besides, there isn't much need of shields either as the Freelancers Aura acts as shields anyway. **

**There are also those who aren't happy with the Freelancers using the gas. It's my story so if I say the gas will disperse harmlessly then that's what's going to happen. If there are those who don't like that then they don't have to continue reading, but I recommend you do cause it's kickass. **

**Enjoy. **

**xXx**

Standing tall with his back straight and head held high, Jaune awaits a couple feet ahead of the rest of his Freelancers who are all standing outside the soon to be blast zone with their weapons armed and ready. Along with the two dozen Freelancers are Locus and Caustic with the scientist in possession of the trigger device which will disperse the gas from the canisters that has been spread across the open area.

Some of the Freelancers will admit that the surrounding silence is quite unnerving, but they definitely prefer it over the deafening explosion that unearths the floor in the centre of the sector. The explosion is soon followed by the front of a train crashing through the floor, sending debris in every direction.

Several Freelancers take a step back, due to the shockwave of the explosion and the flying rubble that they narrowly avoid, but Jaune remains unflinching while watching the train skid across the ground. As he watches the train eventually come to a stop, a beach ball size piece of rubble drops down from the sky and heads straight towards the direction of the General himself. It would have hit Jaune straight on the head, if not for him smashing it into pieces by backhanding it, just as easily as someone swatting a fly.

As they await for the dust to clear, all the Freelancers aim their weapons at the damaged train, waiting for any Grimm to surface from either the train or the large hole in the centre of the open field. They also make sure to keep watch over the few carriages which are still connected to the rest of the train as Grimm or even White Fang terrorists could be hiding inside them.

When the dust eventually disperses, the first thing Jaune sees are a pair of soldiers lying amongst a pile of rubble which use to make up the floor. Signalling his Freelancers to remain in position, Jaune runs over to the pair of downed Freelancers and quickly recognizes them as Sleeveless and Snipe, although their Mjolnir armour appears to have been damaged during the explosion.

Crouching down beside the downed men, Jaune holds out his mechanical arm which brings up a small holographic screen across the forearm. On the screen shows the vitals of the two members of Red Team and Jaune is happy to see that they're still alive, although both are running very low on Aura. "Bring these two to the medics!" he ordered, pointing to a pair of Freelancers who move out of position to help the members of Red Team.

"General" groaned Snipe, having soon regained conscious after the explosion, unlike Sleeveless. He remembers Sleeveless and himself nearly getting to the front of the train, but then they saw the incoming wall that the train was speeding into. The last thing he remembers is the train colliding into the wall and then a bright light before his body is suddenly thrown into the air. It's only now he regains consciousness and sees the clear blue skies above him, as well as the General.

"Save your strength" told Jaune as he places his right hand on the soldier's chest. The moment his hand makes contact with Snipe's armour, Jaune's hand begins to glow brightly with the colour of his white Aura. At the moment, Jaune is using his Semblance, _Aura Amplification _which as the name suggests,, can amplify the Aura of others. Many times over the years, he has used his powerful Semblance to save the lives of both civilians and Freelancers who were on the brink of death. At the cost of his own Aura, he can increase the amount of Aura a person has, as well as increase its effectiveness, such as denser Aura shields, faster regeneration and even increase the strength of a person's own Semblance.

The darkish red Aura that belongs to Snipe suddenly covers his person as Jaune's own Aura begins to amplify it. Quickly, Snipe's heavy breathing subsides as his amplified Aura begins the process of healing his body. While he'll still need to be checked over by the medics and likely get a few days rest, he's now no longer in danger of dying.

As a Freelancer helps up Snipe and takes him away, Jaune turns to the unconscious Sleeveless and uses his Semblance on him as well. Sleeveless's brown Aura covers his body as Jaune amplifies it, healing the muscular Freelancer of most of his injuries, although he remains unconscious.

Jaune steps aside as a Freelancer picks up Sleeveless and help carry him to the medics. Jaune watches Sleeveless and Snipe be taken away before he hears something behind him. He turns to the front of the train and sees the side door get kicked off by someone. Immediately, Jaune's right hand reaches to the hilt of Crocea Mors, but he stops when Sharkface jumps out of the train with Demo Man over his shoulders.

In a white blur, Jaune reappears beside Sharkface and helps him and the unconscious Demo Man get to a safe distance. While helping the two, he begins amplifying their Aura so to heal any light injuries they may have on their persons.

"How's... everyone else?" grunted Sharkface in obvious pain. Having been in the front of the train when it crashed, Demo Man and himself have been hit with most of the force from the impact. It's only because of how much thicker his armour is that he's even conscious in the first place. The same thing can't be said to Demo Man who has not only lost conscious, but has also broken his Aura after the explosion and crash. Still, the General's Semblance is definitely making it easier for Sharkface to walk now as the aching pain of his muscles begin to sooth with the help of his amplified Aura.

"Sleeveless and Snipe are hurt, but alive. At the moment, Leader and Girlie are still missing" told Jaune, hoping that the two missing Freelancers are alright.

He soon finds out their whereabouts when the side door of one of the few remaining carriages slides open with Girlie falling out and landing onto her stomach. Leader jumps down after her and nearly falls to the floor like Girlie, but manages to catch himself before his face can touch the floor. Grunting in obvious pain, Leader grabs Girlie's uninjured arm and hoists her up while wrapping her arm over his shoulder. The pair limp towards the direction of Jaune who has a Freelancer lead Sharkface and Demo Man to the medics.

Just as Girlie is about to fall again, Jaune catches her by her free arm and helps Leader lift her up. At the same time, he uses his Semblance to amplify both of his Freelancers Auras. "Are you both alright?" asked Jaune, feeling worried for his soldiers health. Some military leaders may disagree with how familiar he acts with his subordinates, but Jaune is someone who worries for the safety of his soldiers.

Girlie grunts, having no spare energy to speak, even with the General amplifying her Aura. At least with her Aura being amplified, she'll heal from the stab wound she got from the multicolored woman from before. Unfortunately, she is also suffering from a concussion, as well as a few broken ribs, due to the train suddenly crashing and making her bounce off the walls of the carriage like a pinball. If not for her armour, she would have died as her Aura was nearly nonexistent at the time of the crash.

Leader decides to answer for them both. "I'm mostly alright, just tired. Before the crash, Girlie here fought against an unknown assailant and got her left arm stabbed. The blade managed to pierce through a gap of her armoured plating."

Jaune nods while making a mental note to watch the footage from Girlie's helmet, as long as it hasn't been too damaged after the crash. "Follow him to the medics. They'll take care of you" he said, pointing to the Freelancer who's leading Sharkface and Demo Man away.

Just after Leader nods in confirmation, something large suddenly pops out of the hole behind them, sending more rubble into the air and even launches one of the train carriages. A few nearby Freelancers either run or jump aside to avoid the falling carriage which drops down to where they were just standing. While no one is injured, the carriage does destroy two mounted Machine Gun Turrets which were set up to keep back the Grimm. Jaune turns around to see what has climbed out of the hole and quickly recognizes the black head of a King Taijitu which soon focuses its attention on Leader, Girlie and himself because of how close they are.

"Take Girlie and run! I'll handle this" ordered Jaune, giving Girlie to Leader who quickly makes a run towards the safety of the surrounding Freelancers. With Jaune having amplified his Aura, Leader now has the strength to carry Girlie over his shoulder and run, much to her annoyance, although she doesn't try to protest. She much prefers being rattled around on someone's shoulders then to being eaten by a King Taijitu.

The fleeing Freelancers are not missed by the King Taijitu which senses the fear coming off of them both, making them a far more attractive target than Jaune, even though he's far closer. The Grimm hisses at the fleeing Freelancers and prepares itself to chase after them. However, a streak of light suddenly flashes across its neck, causing the Grimm to pause for a moment, like as if it's trying to comprehend what has just happened. A moment of silence passes before its head starts to slide off of its body and onto the floor, having been sliced off by Jaune without it even realizing.

Jaune glares at the headless Grimm while brandishing Crocea Mors in his right hand, forgoing with using the shield. Having studied all the known species of Grimm, Jaune knows fully well that unlike most Grimm, a King Taijitu can survive getting its head cut off, as long as its second head remains intact. He's proven correct once the white head of the King Taijitu raises itself up from the hole and hisses at him.

Once the King Taijitu fully climbs itself out of the hole, more Grimm begin to pour out after it. Beowolves, Ursai and Creeps lead the Grimm out, although they don't get too far away from the hole as the surrounding Freelancers open fire at the growing number Grimm. While a majority of Freelancers are using their rifles, a few are in possession of Rocket Launchers and mounted Machine Gun Turrets which do a fine job at tearing apart the large number of Grimm. Even with the loss of two mounted Machine Gun Turrets, the Freelancers firepower prove to be more than a match for the large number of Grimm. Whilst firing at the Grimm, the surrounding Freelancers make sure to avoid shooting in Jaune's general direction which leave the Freelancer General with a small number of Grimm to deal with himself.

While delighted to see his Freelancers successfully repelling the Grimm, Jaune notices the injured King Taijitu hiss at him before it suddenly attacks him with the speed of a viper. Just as the Grimm opens its mouth to bite him, Jaune jumps over the lunging snake Grimm and spins in midair with Crocea Mors outstretched. Landing on top of the Grimm's head, Jaune swings his blade so to clean it of the black liquid which makes up the blood of all Grimm.

The source of the blood is soon tracked to the Grimm he's standing on when the remaining head of the King Taijitu begins to slide off the rest of its body. Just as it's about to fall off, the head splits down the centre, having been sliced in four different chunks during the time in which Jaune jumped and spun in midair before landing.

Jaune jumps off of the disintegrating Grimm's corpse and rolls across the floor before climbing back up to his feet. The sight of him has the two nearby Beowolves lunge at him with their jaws wide open to take a bite out of him. Their attempts fail when Jaune manages to bisect the both of them with one wide swing of his blade, managing to cut them as easily as a hot knife cutting through butter.

"Caustic!" he shouted, jumping away from the growing number of Grimm that are emerging from the hole. He even sees a Death Stalker trying to climb out of the hole, although a series of rockets and gunfire makes it difficult for the Grimm to climb. Still, if the Grimm numbers keep rising, the Freelancers might find themselves overrun soon. They brought an abundant supply of guns and ammo, but they do not have nearly enough to constantly bombard the constantly growing number of Grimm.

Whilst firing into the unprotected chest of an incoming Ursa until it collapses, Caustic smirks beneath his gas mask when he hears his General's shout and chuckles. He reaches to the triggering device that he has clasped by his waist and holds it out. "Dispersing the Nox Gas, now!" Pressing his thumb on the trigger, Caustic watches as the canisters inflate before dispersing the green gas around the open area.

While the Freelancers are unharmed by the highly toxic gas, the same can't be said for the surrounding Grimm.

**xXx**

As Team RWBY and (J)NPR discuss the possible reasons for the roadblocks, the sudden explosion in the distance has them all forget their conversation as they all turn towards to the direction of the loud noise. In the distance from behind the roadblock, they can see dust and smoke trailing in the air, obviously being from the source of the explosion they just heard.

The Hunters intend to bypass the roadblock and run towards the source of the explosion, only to be impeded by the Freelancers who step in their way. "Stop. This road is blocked until further notice" told the bronze-colored Freelancer who seemingly hasn't heard the explosion behind him. Either that or he has been ordered to ignore the loud explosions.

"Are you serious?" asked Yang in disbelief. "Did you not hear that loud ass explosion right behind you?!"

"Simply going over safety protocols, miss" explained the Freelancer, remaining in place.

As Yang is about to make a remark, the sound of gunfire and roaring Grimm stops her and makes the hearts of everyone in the vicinity skip a beat. After all, nobody should be able to hear Grimm from behind the safety of the Kingdom's walls.

"Grimm" muttered Ren in horrific realization.

"Get out of our way, now!" ordered Ruby, brandishing Crescent Rose. She isn't the only one as each of her friends pull out their own respective weaponry with the intention of running towards the source of the explosion so to deal with the Grimm threat, even at the cost of running through the roadblock.

However, the eight Freelancers, including the one who is manning the turret on the Warthog all aim their own weapons at the Hunters. "By order of the General, nobody is to pass the barricades until further notice. Any who try are to be restrained and placed under arrest" told the leading Freelancer who aims his Battle Rifle at Yang.

"There are Grimm in the city!" shouted Nora, causing nearby civilians to panic and run in the opposite direction.

"Let us through!" demanded Blake, taking a step forward which causes the Freelancers to take the safety off their weapons. The turret on the Warthog begins to spin, indicating that all the Freelancer has to do is pull the trigger to release heavy gunfire down on the Hunters.

"Drop your weapons, and stand down, now!" ordered the leading Freelancer who's beginning to get frustrated with the rebellious Hunters. "If you continue to resist, you will make yourselves an enemy, not only of the Freelancers, but to the Kingdom of Vale as well."

Pyrrha lowers Miló and Akoúo somewhat and looks at the leading Freelancer, quizzically. "What do you mean by becoming an enemy to the Kingdom of Vale?"

"The Council already knows of what is happening and have given their full support on the matter. Any actions to interfere with the safety protocol will only be met with severe repercussions" explained the Freelancer, much to the shock of the Hunters.

"WHAT!?"

**xXx**

"What was that?" asked Emerald, turning around from the middle of the street to face the direction of the large explosion which she has just heard go off. In the distance, she can see smoke rise up into the air and notices how it's coming from around the same whereabouts of where the train from Mount Glenn is suppose to make its final stop. "Is that the train?" she asked her partner as Emerald doesn't remember Cinder mentioning anything about sending the train early. The last time she checked, Roman still needs to get the upcoming shipment of Dust from the Vale Docks before they can send in the train with the Grimm.

Unlike Emerald who's starting to feel a little bit paranoid, Mercury shrugs his shoulders in an uncaring manner. "Who cares."

Emerald turns to Mercury and glares at the apathetic assassin. "I care and so should you. The train wasn't suppose to go off until Torchwick stole the upcoming SDC Dust shipment. Cinder doesn't like setbacks to her plans."

Mercury quirks a brow while an amused smirk graces his lips. "Setback? Does this look like a setback to you?" he asked, spreading his arms out to gesture at the many distracted civilians who are too busy gazing at the smoke that they can't bother with listening in on their very incriminate conversation.

Emerald looks around the street and sees several people staring at the rising cloud of smoke in shock and horror. Their negative emotions are only increased when the roars of Grimm and the sound of gunfire fills their ears. Quickly, everyone begins running in the opposite direction of the gunfire and Grimm while either holding onto their loved ones or crying out gibberish.

"To me, it looks like the plan has gone off without a hitch" said Mercury, smirking while enjoying the sight of so many panicking people running for their lives. "The plan was always to blow a hole into the city so the Grimm can go wild. It doesn't matter how many people are killed or how fast the Grimm are repelled. All that matters is for the news of Grimm getting pass the walls to spread across the Kingdom so the poor suckers can finally realize that they aren't safe in their homes anymore. With their growing fear, negativity in the Kingdom spikes and attracts more Grimm here, making the end game that much easier for us."

Emerald scowls, hating how Mercury speaks to her like as if he's smarter than her, but she mostly hates how she knows he's right. The plan may have gone ahead of schedule, but it has still completed its intended task. With the negativity within the Kingdom increasing, the already large number of Grimm around Vale will grow even larger and when the time comes to invade Vale, they'll not only have an army of White Fang terrorists with Atlesian equipment, but also a very large army of the creatures of Darkness. Not even the likes of the Freelancers will be able to stand up against them.

"Now stop moping and put on your game face. We're here" told Mercury as he walks up to the front of a bookshop which is said to be owned by the White Fang deserter. He doesn't understand why Cinder has Emerald here with him. Admittedly, her Semblance is useful, but he has been trained to be an assassin ever since he could walk. He doesn't need anyone else to help him kill a simple White Fang deserter.

"Let's just get this over with" muttered Emerald as she walks past Mercury and enters the bookshop. _"The faster we kill the traitor, the faster I can return to Cinder's side." _

So distracted with her thoughts that Emerald doesn't notice the air shimmer from a nearby rooftop.

**xXx**

The effects from Caustic's Nox Gas is noticeable almost immediately.

Having been carrying a gas mask on his person all along, Jaune quickly secures it on his face before the gas can spread out across the open area. Studying the effects, Jaune notices that the gas is causing the Grimm to move much slower than usual with many being in obvious pain. The bigger Grimm like the Death Stalker and King Taijitu are holding out better against the gas because of their larger size, but even they are starting to show signs of damage from the deadly gas. The more common Grimm like Beowolves and Ursai are already beginning to drop to the floor dead, if the disintegration of their bodies is any sign.

In Jaune's own opinion, he believes that he's providing the Grimm with undeserving mercy by allowing his Freelancers to gun down their weak and dying forms. Only the larger Grimm try to fight back against the gunfire and explosives, but they are soon quickly torn to shreds from the combined might of his Freelancers and the Nox Gas.

The Nox Gas proves to be a very good method to rid the large amount of Grimm, especially when the gas begins seeping into the hole. With the hole sucking away the gas, the hundreds more Grimm which are currently in the underground subway system are now suffering as the gas fills the tightly narrow space of the subway tunnel. The Grimm have no choice but to either run up to the surface and get gunned down by armed soldiers, or to run back, although they can't very well do that with so many of them filling up the narrow tunnel. Those who do try to run back quickly get clogged up by their fellow brethren and die from either breathing in the poisonous Nox Gas or by being stomped on.

The sounds of dying Grimm from the large hole is like music to Jaune's ears. It's almost a shame for him to have to seal up the hole so he can't hear them anymore, but he still needs to make sure that the Grimm can't get back into the city. He presses the communication device in his right ear to connect himself to the Freelancers who are standing on nearby rooftops and awaiting their orders. "Fill it up."

The two Freelancers don't respond, but they do place down their Mortars before firing an Earth Dust-filled mortar into the air. Everyone in the area watches as the mortars fly up into the air before dropping down towards the large hole in the middle of the sector. Upon falling down through the hole, the mortars detonate and release its Dust contents. Solid rock explodes from the mortars and quickly begins filling in the hole, although it does take another two mortar rounds for the hole to be completely filled. Any Grimm that may have been within the splash zone of the mortars are quickly killed when Earth Dust envelop their bodies and turn them entirely into solid rock.

Within moments, the large hole which has been made by a combination of a speeding train and explosives is now filled back up with solid rock. The only evidence of it being there in the first place are the uneven pieces of rock that are poking out of the floor, as well as the train and carriages which are situated nearby.

As the remaining Grimm are gunned down by the other Freelancers, Jaune notices that the remains of Caustic's Nox Gas is dispersing in the wind and within moments, the air is safe to breathe once more. Taking off his gas mask, Jaune breathes in a lungful of fresh air and smiles over the success of another mission.

All what's left to do now is to organize damage control.

**xXx**

This was suppose to be nothing more than a simple assassination mission!

With Mercury's assassination skills and her Semblance, killing the White Fang traitor should have been a piece of cake. They would go into the bookshop, make light conversation, carefully reveal who they really are to the former Faunus terrorist through dialogue and then she would use her Semblance to trick him when he moves in to attack and catch him off guard. Mercury will then step up and blow a hole in the surprised Faunus's skull. They would then leave with none the wiser and inform Cinder of a job well done.

Unfortunately, Emerald realizes that her luck isn't that great, especially with the Freelancers around.

"You know who we are, don't you?" Emerald asked Tukson as a smirking Mercury uses the sensor beside the door to tint the windows so nobody outside can see what they're about to do.

Tukson tries to keep his expression blank, but he can't help but glare at the two with his eyes. "Yes."

"And you know why we're here?"

"Yes."

The left side of Emerald's lips tilts upwards into a knowing smirk. "And are you going to fight back?" She can hear Mercury step up behind her so to get in position when the Faunus makes his first and final move.

Tukson frowns and clenches his fists, preparing to dish out his claws so he can rip out the smug woman's throat. That is until he sees something over the assassins shoulders which makes him slowly smile and ease the tension in his shoulders. "No."

Tukson's response actually manages to surprise Emerald, but none more so when Tukson suddenly drops down behind the counter. It's only because of Mercury pushing her down to the floor that her body doesn't get shredded with bullets when sudden gunfire cuts through the front door and windows. After ten seconds of constant gunfire, the flying bullets stop, giving Mercury and Emerald the chance to crouch down to a nearby intact bookshelf and poke their heads out.

What they see are two individuals walking through the space where the door use to be with the lone male reloading his smoking weapon.

"I hope we're not intruding on anything."

Neither are wearing the iconic Freelancer armour, but Emerald and Mercury can still see the Freelancer logos on their clothing, signifying their allegiance with the private military.

The Freelancer who spoke is a handsome man in his early thirties who adorns a yellow jumpsuit with pieces of leather armour over it. Keeping his dark well-groomed hair back is an orange-tinted set of ski goggles which is odd since the closest ski resort is in Atlas. The biggest oddity about the man's appearance are the round metal objects that are protruding from his clothing and neither Emerald or Mercury know what they are or what their purpose could be. In his hand is a Freelancer manufactured light machine gun that goes by the title, Spitfire.

**( Spitfire - Apex Legends )**

"Hi there, I'm Mirage" greeted the grinning Freelancer who pats himself on the chest before waving his right arm to the woman beside him. "And this dazzling beaut is Wraith. Don't let the name fool you, she's actually a big softy."

**( Mirage - Apex Legends )**

With even looking at him, Wraith punches Mirage across the jaw, although the pain from her punch doesn't stop Mirage from chuckling.

Unlike the cheerful and charming Mirage, Wraith lacks any actual emotion whatsoever. All that can be found is an emotionless visage which makes the likes of Mercury shiver, because her expression reminds him too much of his cold-blooded father. Her attire mostly consists of a black scarf, a black and purple shirt and a pair of combat pants along with combat boots. While she may not be wielding a firearm, both Emerald and Mercury can see the sharp dagger which she is holding in her left hand.

**( Wraith - Apex Legends )**

Mirage notices a sweaty Tukson poke his head out from behind the shop counter and tilts his head towards the direction of the shattered windows and door behind him. "Tukson, you better head on out of here. We'll deal with this."

Tukson nods, having absolutely no problem with escaping with his life and leaving the more suited Freelancers to handle his would-be assassins. He quickly jumps over the counter and runs to the destroyed door, but the fleeing Faunus isn't missed by either Emerald or Mercury.

_"No you don't" _thought Emerald, using her Semblance to make both her own face and Mercury's appear blurry to the two Freelancers so they can't be identified. She pulls out Thief's Respite and shifts them into duel revolvers before she aims them at Tukson's back. The last thing she wants is to return to Cinder after failing to kill one single traitor, especially after getting ambushed by Freelancers.

However, Emerald is forced to let the Faunus go and drop back down to cover after Mirage fires a couple rounds at her with his Spitfire.

"I can do this all day" told a grinning Mirage. "So how about you drop your weapons and we can all have a nice peaceful chat. Or not, I don't care" he shrugged before aiming his Spitfire at the bookshelf the assassins are hiding behind.

"Okay, enough of this" growled Mercury who kicks the bookshelf he's hiding behind at the two Freelancers.

Wraith is quick to roll to her right and avoid the bookshelf, but Mirage isn't.

That is what Mercury thought until the bookshelf passes right through Mirage who disperses into particles.

"What the?!" cried Mercury in surprise as he has no idea what just happened.

"Yoo hoo!"

Mercury turns around and sees Mirage who is leaning against the bookshop counter and waving at him. Scowling, Mercury throws a straight kick which shoots an explosive round from his boots, Talaria at Mirage, but like last time, Mirage disperses into particles once the explosive round passes through him and hit the store counter instead. The resulting explosion has the counter explode and shower the room with wood shards.

_"What's going on here? Is this some kind of Semblance?" _wondered Mercury before his eyes widen when a dozen Mirages suddenly materialize all over the store. So surprised at being outnumbered by the exact same guy, Mercury doesn't see the shimmer in the air move his left until he hears a sharp whistle. As Mercury twists his neck to see who whistled, the only thing he does see is Mirage's fist which knocks him back a few steps.

"Dude, you do know Mirage isn't my birth name, right?" asked Mirage with a teasing grin as he finds it amusing how the silver-haired assassin still hasn't figured out the reason why he can summon so many of himself.

While Mercury struggles against fighting Mirage and his illusions, Emerald finds herself struggling against her own opponent.

"Stay still, damn it!" yelled Emerald while firing at Wraith who is constantly disappearing and reappearing into thin air.

Wraith ignores her opponent's yells and teleports to her left, causing Emerald to widen her eyes in surprise. Wraith lunges at the dark-skinned woman and thrusts her knife into one of her red eyes. The moment Wraith's blade hits Emerald's eye, she vanishes from existance, leaving the whereabouts of Emerald unknown.

_**"To your left." **_

Having learned to listen to the voices in her head, Wraith turns to her left and even though she can't see anything but a bookcase against the wall, she still throws her blade.

An invisible Emerald jumps out of the way to avoid the knife which would have hit her in the chest if not for her quickly avoiding it. _"How did she know where I was?" _thought Emerald, having never fought someone who can somehow see through her hallucinations before. Wraith proves to Emerald that it wasn't just an accident by teleporting above Emerald and dropkicking her in the back. Emerald opens her mouth and let's out a silent scream as she feels Wraith's boots dig into her back while also feeling the floorboards shatter beneath her.

Mercury balances himself on one hand and performs a series of spin kicks to hit all three incoming Mirages, but each one fades into particles, revealing themselves to all be fake. Through quick instinct, Mercury pushes himself up into the air to avoid gunfire from Mirage who suddenly appears to his right. Once he rights himself in midair, Mercury raises his right leg and drops it down on the Mirage who he definitely knows is real.

Only for his leg to pass through Mirage harmlessly, much to Mercury's shock and quickly growing annoyance. "WHAT!?"

Mirage turns off his cloaking and is already aiming his Spitfire at Mercury who can only cross his arms before a birage of gunfire hits into him. The force of an entire Spitfire clip throws Mercury back and while his Aura does hold out from getting his body shot through, he still feels every bullet hits him and each one hurts just as much as the next.

Having not been paying much attention to his surroundings, Mirage only sees in the last second that he has just launched the assassin to Wraith who is standing on the back of second assassin. Luckily for him, Wraith sees the body flying in the air and backflips off of Emerald to avoid it.

Groaning in pain, although delighted to have the Freelancer no longer standing on her back, Emerald slowly pushes herself up to her feet while Mercury gets up into a crouching position.

"Watch it" spoke Wraith, casting a cold glare at Mirage who steps up to her side.

Mirage raises his hands up in defence. "I admit, that one was on me."

"Got any good ideas?" Mercury asked Emerald, realizing that the Freelancers they are fighting against are a bad match up for their skills. In an honest fight, he's sure that he can whoop the smug smirk off of Mirage's face, but he can't exactly do that when the guy is making virtual copies of himself. He hasn't failed to notice that the odd metal objects glow when the holograms are produced so he knows that they aren't the result of a Semblance, but rather technology. Still, that information doesn't exactly help him since he still can't hit the guy.

"I'm thinking " growled Emerald through gritted teeth. Constantly keeping up the illusion to cover up both of their faces is starting to give her a massive headache and the pain from Wraith dropkicking her into the floor isn't helping her growing frustration. From her fight with Wraith, she knows that Wraith is still somewhat effected by her Semblance because her eyes don't follow her like they should when she moves. Yet, there's something that is alerting Wraith of her position and for the life of her, Emerald can't figure out what it is.

Just as Emerald is about to raise her weapons and open fire, the sound of glass shattering echoes through the destroyed bookstore before Neo appears in between Emerald, Mercury and the Freelancers.

"Who this?" asked Mirage, tilting his head at the small multicolored woman.

Neo smirks and throws a playful wink at the Freelancers before Wraith runs at her and throws a punch. Instead of hitting flesh, Wraith's fists breaks through the illusion that Neo placed, revealing that the assassins have already escaped.

A moment of silence fills the store as the Freelancers try to comprehend what has just happened.

Mirage decides to be the one who breaks the silence. "The Commander is going to kill us."

**( Beacon - Ozpin's Office )**

Ozpin is not a happy man.

Within the timeframe of an hour, he not only discovers that the White Fang have remained in Mount Glenn, even after Team RWBY discovered their presence earlier on, but they had also used a train that was rigged with explosives to blow a hole in the middle of the city, allowing the Grimm entry so they can kill and cause mayhem across the Kingdom.

Luckily, there has been no civilian casualties or even deaths, thanks to the Freelancers discovering the terrorist plot before hand and preparing the necessary safety precautions. Not only did the Freelancers prepare the soldiers and required firepower to repel the Grimm threat, but they had also prepared a full evacuation of every civilian in the sector so no innocent civilian would get caught in the crossfire.

The White Fang could have killed a lot of civilians because of their terrorist plot, but the Freelancers did a fine job in countering it. A lot of lives were saved because of the Freelancers and Ozpin is very grateful for their hard work and quick thinking.

However, he is also very displeased with how Jaune Arc didn't think to call him so to explain to him of the White Fang's plan or of the Freelancers own plan to counter the terrorist plot. The fact that they used poisonous gas in the middle of the city is also something that Ozpin is heavily frowning upon.

Thankfully, Jaune answers his Scroll after Ozpin calls him from the terminal in his office desk so he can discuss what just happened in the city. "General."

"Headmaster. May I ask what this call is about? I am quite busy at the moment so I can't talk for long" answered Jaune, showing no signs of weakness that Ozpin can hope to exploit.

"You and I both know the reason why I am calling" answered Ozpin, narrowing his eyes at the Freelancer General so to show Jaune that he is obviously displeased with him.

Jaune raises his right eyebrow as he looks at the Headmaster from the holographic screen over Ozpin's desk. "I don't have the foggiest idea, Headmaster. With my sudden workload, my memory must have escaped me. Please, do remind me."

Ozpin frowns, not liking how his former pupil is acting coy with him, but decides to explain anyway. "I am referring to how you failed to notify me about the White Fang's presence in Mountain Glenn, as well as their plot to release Grimm in the city."

Jaune closes his eyes and nods in understanding. "I see. Headmaster, I hope that you do not take any offence form this, but why should I have informed you?"

Ozpin looks at Jaune and exchanges his angry expression for one of bewilderment. "What do you mean? Of course you should have informed me!"

Jaune stares into Ozpin's eyes so to make sure he gets his message across. "If the attack was to occur on Beacon grounds, then I would have obviously informed you of the upcoming threat. You are the Headmaster of Beacon Academy and the safety of your pupils is most definitely your responsibility, but your title holds no importance for the rest of Vale. As the Council are the ones who run the Kingdom, I had informed them of the White Fang terrorist plot and was granted permission to allow the countermeasures that were used to repel them. As you are only the Headmaster for Beacon Academy, there was no reason to inform you of our plans."

As much as Ozpin wants to point out that he could have provided support and wisdom to repel the White Fang and Grimm, he knows that he can't. After spending so many life times running his secret organization and holding influence over so much of Remnant, Ozpin has forgotten what it's like to actually be told no. As Jaune Arc has just explained to him, he has no direct power over Vale since the Council is the actual leading figures of the Kingdom, no matter how much influence Ozpin might have over the people. Legally speaking, there is no reason why the Freelancers should have explained anything to him as his position only gives him legal power in Beacon and even then, the Council can always take away his title if they so wish.

Ozpin returns his attention to the holographic screen where he sees someone whisper into Jaune's ear. Jaune nods to the man who walks off as the General looks back at Ozpin. "Apologies, Headmaster, but I must be going. I've got to make sure everything doesn't blow up in our faces."

Given no time to reply, Ozpin watches in silence as the connection cuts off, leaving him alone in his office to think.

**AN: Wasn't really feeling the juices flowing while making this chapter. Hoping to get better for the next one and to focus more on Jaune. **


	9. Aftermath

**Author's Note: Not reading reviews so if you have something to say or notice any mistakes, PM me.**

**Enjoy.**

**xXx**

The tension in the room is so thick that it could be cut with a knife. A knife that may soon find itself stabbed in someone's back if the tension in the room doesn't lessen up anytime soon.

Sitting on a luxurious red couch in the centre of the room is Cinder who is calmly holding a glass of red wine in her left hand while tapping the arm of the couch with her right.

Sitting directly across from her are her two subordinates, Emerald and Mercury who look like they want to be anywhere else but here. The pair can't find the courage to look up from the floor, knowing that Cinder isn't pleased with either one of them.

The same can't be said for Roman and Neo.

Roman is leaning against a wall with his arms folded and a big smug grin on his face. The reason for his smugness is because both of Cinder's lackeys are in big trouble for not only having failed their simple assassination task, but also because they were on the verge of being either killed or worse, captured by the Freelancers. Luckily, Neo just so happened to be in the area after successfully defending the train and decided to check up on the two. With the two Freelancers so focused on Cinder's lackeys, they didn't see Neo coming until it was too late and they were long gone.

The multicolored killer is currently sitting on a wooden chair beside Roman, paying more attention to the television which is displayed on the top right corner of the room. Neo ignores the tension around her and takes another bite of ice cream from the bowl on her lap and smiles in delight as the delicious treat melts on her tongue.

Deciding to take a risk, Emerald swallows down her cowardice and looks up from the floor. She immediately regrets her split second of bravery once she makes eye contact with Cinder's disappointed and angry amber eyes. Said eyes are also glowing with the power of the Fall Maiden, making Emerald gulp in fear.

"One job."

Even Mercury looks up from the floor to look at Cinder, but only because he knows she'll get mad at him for not looking at her while she's speaking. Cinder closes her eyes and sighs in disappointment. "You two had one simple job. Kill the White Fang traitor and make sure that nobody sees you. So can one of you please explain to me..." Cinder opens her eyes which glow brightly with the power of the Fall Maiden. "How did it end in complete and utter failure?" While she may sound calm, everyone can tell that Cinder is anything but calm. It's just that she can keep her emotions in check better than most people.

At least, until her temper snaps and she finally decides to burn someone to ash.

Just as Mercury and Emerald are trying to point the blame onto one another, Cinder sees something in the edge of her line of sight. She turns towards the television and sees none other than the Freelancer General himself who appears to be on the news. "Turn that up" she ordered Neo, ignoring her two subordinates for something more important.

Neo rolls her eyes, but goes ahead and turns up the volume of the television.

**"And with me today is none other than the founder and General of the Freelancer private military force, Jaune Arc" introduced VNN's leading news anchor, Lisa Lavender who is sitting beside Jaune who waves at the audience in the studio and at the cameras. "Mr. Arc-"**

**"Please, call me Jaune. Mr. Arc is my father" said Jaune while throwing a wink at Lisa, making her giggle at his corny remark. Her giggle doesn't last as she regains her professionalism and looks at the Freelancer General seriously. **

**"Well then, Jaune. How about we address the Goliath in the room. What happened in the city centre yesterday?" **

**Jaune loses his smile and looks just as serious as Lisa. "I won't lie to you, Lisa. Yesterday, the terrorist organization, the White Fang attempted an attack on Vale." **

**"The White Fang?" repeated Lisa, sounding surprised.**

**Jaune nods. "Indeed. Using an abandoned underground train network which leads all the way from Mountain Glenn, the White Fang sent a train which was filled with explosives through it and blew a hole in the city centre. Luckily, a team of Freelancers discovered the plan beforehand and contacted us about the impending attack. After requesting permission from the Council, we quickly evacuated everyone in the area so to guarantee their safety." **

**The audience in the news studio all clap to show their thanks while Lisa waits until they are all finished. Once the clapping stops, Lisa continues with her questioning. "But Jaune, nearby witnesses also claimed that they heard the unmistakable noise of Grimm after the explosion, as well as gunfire. Care to explain?" **

**"Certainly. The White Fang's terrorist plot wasn't just to unleash a bomb in the middle of the city centre, as many would believe. Their true intentions was much worse."**

**"Worse than setting off a bomb in the centre of the city?" asked Lisa in disbelief. **

**"Afraid so. The explosion was only the beginning of the terrorist plot. For you see, the explosives were actually used to blow a hole in the city centre so to give the Grimm the perfect opportunity to enter into the city." **

**Lisa and practically everyone who is watching the news widen their eyes in horror. "G-Grimm were actually inside the city?" asked Lisa in disbelief in horror. She knows that the witnesses claimed to hear Grimm, but she had thought it was just their imagination going wild after hearing the explosion. **

**Grimly, Jaune nods. "Unfortunately, they were. However, through effort and quick thinking from my Freelancers, we were prepared to deal with the Grimm threat. Thanks to their efforts, the Grimm were successfully repelled, the White Fang plot was foiled and there were no casualties from either civilians or soldiers."**

**This time, the audience clap even louder and even Lisa Lavender can't stop herself from clapping along with them. The clapping and cheering continues for over a minute before it begins dying down. **

**"That incredible. It looks like the Council made the right decision in putting the Freelancers in charge of security for our Kingdom" admitted Lisa in awe of the Freelancers and their skill. She doubts that the Hunters could have done the job just as well. "And from what I've heard from a few Freelancers, you were in the thick of the fighting, weren't you?" **

**Jaune smiles slightly while inwardly wondering which Freelancers were interviewed. "Of course I was. After all, if a General doesn't lead, how can they expect their soldiers to follow?" **

**"Very wise words for someone so young" commented Lisa. "Has there been precautions made to make sure that such an attack won't happen again?" **

**"There has. For starters, the hole that the White Fang made in the city centre has already been filled in so there is no chance of anymore Grimm sneaking into the city. We have also cleared Mount Glenn of all White Fang terrorists and stationed Freelancers there so to make sure something like this won't happen again" replied Jaune, surprising Lisa with how quickly the Freelancers have already moved. "We also believe that the attack wasn't just done by the White Fang, but also an unknown third party."**

**"An unknown third party? Do you have any clues or evidence to support that claim?" asked Lisa, finding the interview to be far more interesting than she first thought it would be. **

**Jaune showcases his mechanical arm and presses a holographic button on it which uploads three different video footage to VNN's CCTNetwork. "This footage was captured from the miniature cameras that are built into the armour and clothing of every Freelancer. From this footage, you can see three unknown assailants with one having been on the White Fang's train and the other two attempting to assassinate a White Fang turncoat which has been supplying us with information on the terrorist organization." **

**On every screen is the footage which shows the footage of Mercury, Emerald and Neo fighting a member of the Freelancers. With another press of his arm, Jaune stops the footage and crops out the images of the three assailants faces. "These three have no background information or even a birth certificate to prove their existance. Simply put, they don't exist in legal terms. That doesn't mean we won't hunt them down for their crimes. As of right now, these three individuals are wanted by the Freelancers and Council of Vale for the crimes of attempted murder and terrorism. If you see any of these people, you are not to engage with them whatsoever as they are all highly skilled and very dangerous. Make sure to contact the closest Freelancer nearby and leave it to them. Thank you." **

**Lisa is momentarily stunned with how the Freelancer General just hijacked her show for a moment to display the faces of three dangerous individuals. Just as she's about to ask another question, she glances at the nearby clock and realizes that she's out of time for her interview. "Looks like we're out of time. This has been a very enlightening experience for everyone, I'm sure. Before we go, I'd like to thank the General for being with us here in VNN and that I feel safer already, knowing the Freelancers are here to protect us. **

**Jaune smiles at Lisa. "Thank you for having me, Lisa."**

The Vale News Network Channel than moves onto a news segment on the upcoming weather, not that Cinder cares as she can feel her rage rise to its boiling point. Without her even realizing, the wine in her glass begins bubbling before the glass shatters into pieces, having been crushed with her own hand. The red liquid pours down her hand and drips down on the carpet, not that anyone in the room cares.

_"That's not good" _thought Roman, realizing what has just happened. Both of Cinder's lackeys have just been made to everyone in the Kingdom and now, they're wanted by the Freelancers. No longer will they be allowed to walk the streets of Vale, unless they want to end up arrested and Roman _**knows **_that Cinder would rather kill them herself, just so they can't give the Freelancers any incriminating information about her and her plan. Neo on the other hand is more or less safe, thanks to her Semblance which she can use to camouflage herself in public.

As much as it hurts his pride, Roman knows that he has been lucky to avoid getting into the crosshairs of the Freelancers, especially after having stolen the SDC Dust shipment from the port last night. The only reason he managed to do so without any interruptions is because of the confusion of the event which is quickly being known as the Breach. He's confident in his skills, but not enough to try and cross paths with the Freelancers who are actually good at their job, unlike the clowns in the Vale Police Department.

Emerald feels her whole body soak up in sweat, having recognized the footage from her fight in Tukson's bookshop. The footage shows her fighting the source of the camera footage, meaning that the camera must have been on the Freelancer woman who she was fighting. While her Semblance can work on people, electronics such as cameras and androids can't be effected. Therefore, Emerald's identity is now known across the entire city.

Cinder slowly turns to her shaking subordinates and narrows her burning eyes at them.

"Explain."

**( Junior's Club )**

Hei Xiong or Junior as most people tend to call him likes to believe to himself that he is an intelligent man. Running the Red Axe Gang, as well as managing his club and his vast information network takes a lot of multitasking on his part and it isn't easy. In fact, it's so difficult that he usually ends up going to sleep with a pulsing headache, but it's worth it in the end. He has spent a lot of time and Lien into building his criminal organization and it has grown to the point where it has become one of the four leading criminal factions in the Kingdom of Vale, alongside the Blue Dragons, Black Void and the Mistralian Mafia.

When Junior first heard that the Freelancers were to run security for Vale during the majority of the Vytal Festival, he immediately recalled every last member of his gang from all over his territory and made sure to stop all illegal operations within the Kingdom. He has heard many tales about the Freelancers and what they're capable of from his contacts outside the Kingdom. Already knowing about their large numbers and advanced technology is the very reason why he decided to stop all illegal operations, just so he doesn't get on the Freelancer's radar. It might have been seen as a sign of weakness by the other gangs, but seeing as they no longer exist and he does, Junior believes that he has made the right choice.

That's because within moments of entering Vale, the Freelancers had quickly begun taking apart every active criminal organization in Vale, including the other three major crime organizations.

Many of Junior's competitors had underestimated the strength and tenacity of the Freelancers, which is why the Black Void, Blue Dragons and even the Mistralian Mafia are now no more. Unlike police officers and Hunters, Freelancers can't be threatened or bribed by any of the gangs and they all soon found that out the hard way.

From what Junior has heard from his contact in the East of Vale, the Mistralian Mafia soon found themselves disbanded after attempting to bribe and threaten several members of the Freelancers. That proved to be a big mistake on their part because by the end of the day, every asset owned by Mistralian Mafia was seized and every military raid ended with most of the high-ranking members either arrested or dead.

Making sure to learn from his former competitors mistakes, Junior makes sure to not antagonize the Freelancers in any way. So far, it has proven to be an effective strategy, but unfortunately a time does come when a man's luck eventually runs out.

To Junior's misfortune, his luck runs out tonight or at least, that's what he believes.

It's an odd sight to see the tall and intimidating Hei Xiong drowning in his own sweat, but seeing his entire club being packed with Freelancers has the crime boss very nervous. After all, his club is currently filled with dozens of Freelancers and while they may not be armoured, they are most definitely packing heat with most carrying a handgun and a combat knife attached to their waists. Usually, his bouncers would try to stop anyone with a weapon from entering his club, but this once, he can't blame the incompetence of his men for not doing their jobs.

The only other people filling Junior's club who aren't Freelancers are his gang members who are either working as bouncers or as bartenders. None of his regulars are in the club tonight, due to the Freelancers having booked the entire club for the whole night for themselves. While he was reluctant to allow the Freelancers to book his club for the night, he couldn't say no to their Lien which they gave him a lot of. That's not including the drinks which is selling very well.

Still, that does little to ease Junior's nerves when in the presence of so many Freelancers, even if all they're doing is drinking and dancing.

Just as he's getting use to the presence of the Freelancers, Junior hears two bar stools shift nearby. Remembering that he's suppose to be a bartender, he turns to face the two men who have just taken a seat by his bar and just as he asks for what drinks they may want, he feels his heart miss a beat. That's because sitting right across from the bartender are a very recognizable pair of men who are infamously known across the Grimmlands.

"I'll take a brandy" asked Jaune Arc before he turns to his drinking buddy beside him. "And for you, Adam? Whiskey?"

Adam Jensen nods. "Yes. Nye's Rye if you have it."

"There you have it. A brandy and Nye's Rye" Jaune nodded to Junior, seemingly ignoring the man's heavy sweating and drops the correct amount of Lien on the bar counter.

It takes Junior a moment to control his breathing and then he nods to the two very dangerous men before he goes to make their drinks. The small army of Freelancers in his club is one thing, but serving the General and Commander is something else entirely. From what he recalls, both Jaune Arc and Adam Jensen are men of such skill and strength that they could wipe out his entire gang and himself with ease. The thought doesn't bring Junior much comfort, but he does harden himself so he can hold face. He knows that his gang hasn't done anything illegal yet so even if the Freelancers do know about their less than stellar reputation, they haven't done anything to put themselves on their radar.

Jaune stares at Junior's back and watches in amusement as the man struggles to keep himself under control while in their presence. Truth be told, he knows all about Junior and his criminal organization, but unlike the other gangs in the city, Junior's gang has never once acted out in any fashion. In fact, they had stopped all criminal operations in the city before the Freelancers had arrived. Unlike the former leaders of the Black Void, Blue Dragons and Mistralian Mafia who are all now deceased, Junior knows when he's outclassed.

Usually, that wouldn't stop Jaune from destroying Junior's criminal organization, but seeing as Junior's crimes are fairly slim compared to what the other gangs were doing, he decides to leave him be. Besides, having someone with Junior's contacts can prove beneficial to the Freelancers. However, he'll be making sure to watch Junior from now on so he doesn't cross the boundary of what is right and wrong.

Looking around the very busy club, Jaune can see his Freelancers all enjoying themselves, wither it be on the dance floor or in one of the booths. _"They deserve this" _he thought to himself with a smile. With the stress of guarding an entire Kingdom for weeks and dealing with the _Breach_ just recently, Jaune decided to book the whole club for his Freelancers so they can all unwind and from the looks of it, his plan is working.

At one end of the bar, he can see both Felix and Mirage attempting to woo a pair of twins who are dressed in similar dresses with one being in white and the other in red. Since he can't recognize them or see the Freelancer mark on their person, Jaune guesses that they're with Junior's staff. Jaune chuckles when he sees Mirage use his holographic copies to try and impress them, but from the expressions on the twins faces, they're clearly not interested in either of the flirtatious Freelancers. Sensing some Killing Intent, Jaune looks and sees a group of Freelancers hanging in a booth, but he sees both Wraith and South ignoring their friends so they can glare at Felix and Mirage who don't seem to realize that they are having the back of their skulls burned through with glares.

The sight has Jaune point it out to Adam who chuckles alongside with him. While Jaune is definitely no expert in love, he wonders how Felix and Mirage can be so blind to the affections of the two women. Now that he thinks about it, Mirage and South might be at fault as well. The two women aren't known to being affectionate so they probably don't know how to show their affections for the two flirtatious and confident men. Not that it isn't possible, since Felix's partner, Locus has even managed to find love.

Speaking of the man, Jaune can see Locus and his wife sitting in a booth by themselves and happily chatting with one another. The sight of seeing Locus smile and forget his life as a soldier does warm the heart to those who know of his past. Jaune can't help but be proud of himself for matching the two up, even if it's just by placing them in the same team for a mission. During the mission, they had hit it off, much to the surprise of everyone else, especially Felix. Three years later, they got married and have been a happily married couple ever since. Many fear for what their children might become in the future as Locus is one of the more dangerous Freelancers and his wife being just as dangerous as him.

"I hear that the Headmaster in finalizing the preparations for his little tournament between the Hunters and Freelancers" said Adam, deciding to make conversation. He nods Junior his thanks when he's given his glass of Nye Rye. "It should be ready by Friday."

"Right after the Beacon dance" Jaune noted before he takes a sip of his own alcoholic beverage and sighs in satisfaction. "Ozpin still isn't happy about me not informing him of the White Fang's plan. I can tell from the way he keeps our latest talks short and to the point."

"He's probably not use to being told no. Running Beacon Academy, as well as that secret faction of his has made him familiar with being in positions of power" replied Adam, knowing all about Ozpin's secret group and who most of the members are.

Jaune nods in agreement. "True. Hearing that the White Fang are in possession of Atlesian military equipment in Vale has probably worsened his mood even more so."

Adam smirks at the thought of Ozpin informing Ironwood all about that. "To be a fly on the wall for that conversation. Ironwood wouldn't be happy to hear about the terrorist group being in possession of his Atlesian Paladins either."

Jaune chuckles as he can imagine that the first thing Ozpin would do after discovering that the White Fang have Atlas military technology is to call General Ironwood and to demand why the White Fang are in possession of Atlesian Paladins. "Speaking of Paladins, I hear from the scientists that Project Titan is nearly in completion."

Adam swirls the contents of his glass and watches as his drink swirls in his glass. "With that, we'll be able to expand our territory across the Grimmlands even faster and with less losses. The soldiers are good, but there's only so much of them and they're spread thin enough as it is. Project Titan will be the boon we need to finally change the game."

Jaune downs the rest of his drink and sighs. "I can only hope so."

"I told you that we're full! You can't come in here!"

"The hell I can't! Get out of my way before I break your teeth in."

Even with the loud music and chatter, loud shouts can be heard from the other side of the club's entrance. Quite a few Freelancers stop what they're doing and face the direction of the voices, including Jaune and Adam.

After another moment of arguing, the entrance door opens with a muscular man shoving aside the bouncers. Following behind him are three other men who make sure to glare at anyone who are looking at them funny.

Jaune widens his eyes in recognition. Even though he hasn't seen him for ten whole years, Jaune can't forget the face of the person who had made his life in Beacon a living hell and had him expelled in the first place.

Having walked into the club like as if he owns the place is none other than Cardin Winchester and following after him are his teammates, Russel, Sky and Dove.

"Well now, that's surprising" muttered Jaune, catching Adam's attention.

"Sir?"

"Do you remember when I told you about how I was kicked out of Beacon?"

While perplexed, Adam does nod, recalling the story his General told him all those years ago. "I do."

"Well, the angry gentleman who just stormed in here is none other than my former school bully, Cardin Winchester" Jaune informed his Commander.

Adam's brows rise up high on his face before his face turns cold and stern. "I see." Looking at the group of four men, Adam slowly stands up and takes a step towards the group, but is stopped when Jaune grabs his wrist. "Sir?"

"There's no need for that, Adam" told Jaune, cracking his neck before standing up. "I'll go introduce myself to him. I've been looking forward to this reunion for a while now." With that said, Jaune turns and walks towards the entrance where Cardin and his team are standing by, having been stopped by more of Junior's men.

While a few glare at the club crashers, many other Freelancers notice their General and Commander walking from the bar and towards the group of rowdy men. The soldiers are quick to step out of the booths or from the dance floor to follow behind their leader, having all sensed an upcoming confrontation. While they may not know what's going to happen next, they are going to stand by their General.

Cardin Winchester is a Hunter who gives the title a bad name. Many of those who have worked with or even been in his presence will freely admit to not liking the man, due to his many bad qualities. Arrogant, prideful, violent, rude and it's known to practically everybody that he's openly racist to all Faunus, meaning that he is never put onto a team with any Faunus, in case of a fight breaking out.

After having been away on the outskirts of Vacuo for a mission, Cardin has only just arrived back with his teammates and all they wanted to do was to go to their favourite club, have some drinks and hook up with some girls.

Only for the bouncer to try and stop them from entering while saying that they were full. Not like that stopped Cardin who barges his way in anyway as his larger build pushes pass the weak bouncers.

The sight of the club full of many dancing bodies and fine women had Cardin grinning in excitement, only for him to quickly notice that most of them are Faunus, much to his disgust. Before he can openly show his distaste for them, the bouncers returned with more men and demanded that they leave, annoying Cardin with their persistence.

Just as Cardin and his teammates are about to get into a fight with Junior's men, Jaune steps in between them, facing Cardin. "No need to trouble yourselves, boys. I'll handle it from here" said Jaune, telling Junior's men that they can back off.

Junior's henchmen turn around to look at Junior who nods from behind the bar. Getting the message, the henchmen disperse, leaving Jaune facing up against Cardin and his team while Adam stands right behind him. There is also the dozens of Freelancers who are paying very close attention to the altercation.

Cardin glares at Jaune, failing to recognize him. "And you are? Doesn't matter anyway. Just stay out of my way and we'll he good" told Cardin, dismissing Jaune before he walks forward to purposely shoulder past the blonde-haired man. However, even with his heavier build and muscle, Cardin finds himself shouldered instead as Jaune refuses to budge. The Hunter steps back and goes back to glaring at Jaune and nobody misses how the man clenches his fists.

Jaune ignores Cardin's aggressions and smiles. "I'm hurt, Cardin. And here I thought our relationship meant something back in the good old days of Beacon."

Failing to recognize him, Cardin looks over the man, trying to recall who in Beacon this man could possibly be. He doesn't remember hanging around with anyone with blonde hair. In fact, the only person he remembers from Beacon with blonde hair like that is...

"Jauney boy?" spoke Cardin in actual surprise, only now seeing the similarities between his old victim and the rough man before him. Even the members of his own team are surprised by the revelation.

Jaune's smile doesn't once falter over hearing his old nickname, but many Freelancers do glare at Cardin for speaking that way to their General. Focusing on Jaune, Cardin doesn't notice the many glares, but his teammates sure do. They also notice how everyone is moving away from the dance floor and the booths so they can all stand behind Jaune, although being a couple feet away.

Since Cardin and his teammates have been on a long-term mission, none of them know of the Freelancers or their role in defending the Kingdom.

"It has been a while hasn't it, Cardin?"

Cardin's surprise does eventually fade and his cocky demeanor returns. "So Jauney boy has come back to Vale. I'm surprised you can still show your face after having your fake transcripts revealed to the world like that. How long has it been? Nine years? Ten?"

Jaune's smile slightly widens, but not in any sort of friendly demeanor. "Ten."

Cardin smirks and laughs at the memory of getting Jaune kicked out of Beacon. "Good times. We should go grab a booth and talk about the good old days, Jauney boy." Cardin reaches to wrap his muscular arm around Jaune's shoulder, but that was his mistake.

For the moment Cardin stretches his hand out, Jaune grabs his wrist and twists it. The angle of which he twists Cardin's wrist has his former tormentor drop down to his knees, just so to ease the pain somewhat.

While surprised, Cardin's teammates step forward to help out their leader, but they are immediately stopped when _**everyone **_in the club pulls out a handgun of sorts and aims at them. The sight of seeing literally everyone with a gun has the three men perplexed, but with no weapons and being very outnumbered, they all raise their arms in the air and surrender.

Cardin on the other hand is gritting his teeth in pain and groans when Jaune twists his wrist a little bit more. Cardin tries to use his strength to overpower Jaune's grip, but finds his efforts to be in vain.

Jaune hates to admit it, but bringing pain to his school tormentor is actually quite satisfying. So much in fact, he decides to twist his wrist even more, forcing Cardin to drop even lower to the floor so he can somewhat ease the pain. "You heard the bouncers, didn't you? The club is full. You're not welcomed here" told Jaune, enjoying Winchester's pain. Meeting his old bully has brought back a few bad memories of his time in Beacon. To be fair, he doesn't exactly have a lot of good memories there, but he does recall that one time Cardin pushed him into a weapon locker and launched him off to Emerald Forest. The memory has Jaune twist Cardin's wrist even more, making his former bully drop to the floor and cry out in pain.

If anyone has been paying attention, they would notice the white glow covering the hand that Jaune is using to twist Cardin's wrist.

Sadly, as much as he would like to _repay _Cardin for the past, Jaune knows he has to be the bigger man. Being the General, he has to set the standards for his soldiers. Releasing Cardin's wrist, everyone watches as the red-faced Hunter stands back up while nursing his very sore wrist. Winchester glares bloody murder at Jaune, but it's only then does he see the many people behind Jaune who are all holding weapons. Weapons which are all aimed at him and his team.

Grunting, Cardin glares at Jaune. "This isn't over, Arc." With as much pride as he can muster, Cardin turns and stomps out of the club with his teammates following after.

"No, but it's a start" Jaune sighed to himself before turning back to the small army of Freelancers behind him. He decides to repay the men and women for having his back. "Next round is on me!" he declared which is then followed by the cheers of everyone in the club.

**xXx**

Texas steps into the Bridge of the _Mother of Invention_ and to her surprise, sees Commander Jensen running things and not the General himself. "What's this? The General taking the day off to nurse his hangover?" she joked, walking over to Adam who turns around to face her. She knows about how a few Freelancers went out dancing and drinking in Junior's club last night. She would have gone too, if not for the many eyes and ears in Vale.

"Incorrect. The General has gone off to run an _errand. _He mentioned that he'll return within three hours" explained Adam, making Texas nod, seriously.

It's very rare does Jaune go out on his _errands _and neither Texas or Adam knows where he goes or what the _errand _actually is, but both know not to ask. They can tell that it's something personal for the General so they don't pry. Although, they do have theories of what the _errands _actually are with Adam claiming that Jaune goes undercover in the Mistral underworld and Texas believing that Jaune has a secret wife and family.

Both of them couldn't be any farther from the truth.

**( Mountain Glenn )**

Jaune steps out of the Bullhead with Pathfinder and Nash while having his hands folded behind his back. Stopping a few feet away, Jaune looks up at a large metal door which is covered in rust and graffiti.

Holding his Sniper Rifle over his shoulder, Pathfinder takes in the surroundings of Mount Glenn's abandoned streets before turning to the rusty metal door in front of him. "I am confused, creator. This facility doesn't appear to be in any of my memory banks."

Nash steps beside its robotic brother and while he doesn't verbally respond, Nash's facial expression does show a curious face, meaning that he's curious over why he can't find any information of the building either.

"It won't appear in your memory banks because technically, this building doesn't exist" informed Jaune, looking over the large painted symbol on the large metal door which is nearly hidden by the vast amount of rust covering it. "If we were to ignore the technicality, then I guess I could freely tell you both that this building was once a private facility that use to be owned by the now disbanded Merlot Industries."

Both androids perk up, recalling information about _Merlot Industries. _

"Merlot Industries. A research and development corporation that led research into artificial intelligence and genetics. After the fall of Mountain Glenn, the corporation lost most of its chief staff officers and was unable to recover from the blow, shutting down shortly after" recalled Pathfinder from his memory banks.

"What you or anyone else will not know is that Merlot Industries didn't actually shut down" continued Jaune, walking over towards the keypad beside the large metal door. "The founder of the corporation, Doctor Merlot had survived the fall of Mountain Glenn and hid himself away onto his private island." Looking over the keypad, Jaune notices that it is still in operational order. Holding out his mechanical arm, Jaune opens his forefinger that then shifts in an input stick. Installing his finger into the correct port on the keypad, Jaune connects himself into the facility's system and watches lines of code through the use of his mechanical eye. Within a minute, Jaune bypasses the facility's security system and opens the door.

Both androids ignore the sound and sight of the large metal door sinking into the floor as they stare at their creator. "Creator, how do you know all of that?" asked Pathfinder, having been uploaded with all sorts of information from the CCTNet, but all that data never once mentioned anything about Doctor Merlot surviving the fall of Mount Glenn or of him hiding out on an island.

Just as Jaune is about to enter the abandoned facility, he stops in front of the entrance and sighs. Memories he has tried to block from ten years ago begin to resurface to the front of his mind. "I know this, because I had ended up on that damned island of his, ten years ago."

**( Beacon - Ozpin's Office )**

At the moment, Ozpin is going over paperwork that revolves around the upcoming tournament between the Freelancers and Hunters of Vale. The sound of a bird pecking at his window has Ozpin drop what he's doing and open his office window so the crow can fly in and change into Qrow's human form.

"Greetings, Qrow. I take it you didn't just interrupt my work just to say hello" asked Ozpin, sitting back down on his chair before taking a sip from his coffee cup.

"Admit it, you look forward to me showing up out of the blue. It gives you a reason to ignore the paperwork and pass it off to Glynda later" chuckled Qrow. "Besides, I'm sure you'll be happy to know that I've just dug up some more info on the bug infestation that is currently filling our streets."

Ozpin knows full well that Qrow is referring to the Freelancers as the _infestation. _While he doesn't agree with how Qrow refers to the private military, Ozpin doesn't try to scold him, focusing more in the information that Qrow claims to have. "Oh? And how have you come across this information?"

"Turns out that a big group of them went out to Junior's Club last night to go clubbing. It was actually by chance that I ended up bumping into one of them, drunk off his ass and stumbling down the road all by himself. Amateur" scoffed Qrow, being the experienced drinker that he is. "After an offer for a couple of free drinks and a bit of careful prodding on my end, it didn't take much for him to spill the beans on what he knows."

"And? What did he tell you?" asked an interested Ozpin.

Qrow leans forward on his seat and rests his elbows on his knees. "You were right. Turns out that they do have a base of operations. Apparently, they have a factory there where they build all of their suits of armour and weaponry."

Ozpin hums in thought, having guessed that already. With their advanced technology and weaponry, it only makes sense that the Freelancers have a location where they can manufacture their weaponry and suits of armour in peace. To do so, they would need a lot of facilities which can sustain the manufacturing process of the weapons and armour, as well as contain all of their equipment. The facilities and machinery must also be constantly maintained, meaning there will be engineers, as well as soldiers for protection and medical personnel to heal any injured. To house that many people would require a lot of room to board them in.

You would expect that finding such a facility would be simple, due to the amount of buildings and machinery that are required and yet, none of his contacts have found any suitable location which could be used as the headquarters for the Freelancers.

"Did he say where this base of operations is?" asked a hopeful Ozpin who then frowns when Qrow shakes his head.

"Nope. Guy might've been drunk off his ass, but that didn't stop him from getting pretty defensive when I asked. I had to coax him with a few more drinks, just to calm him down."

Ozpin frowns in thought, wondering how Jaune can inspire such loyalty to his soldiers like that. "Did he tell you anything else?"

Qrow nods. "Yup. The drunk told me how exactly the Freelancers are getting their supplies and soldiers. Apparently, they've been recruiting men and women from all over Remnant, mostly from the towns they control in the Grimmlands. Every town militia immediately joined up with the Freelancers when they showed up and seeing as how the smallest town would have a militia with around a hundred people, not including any Hunters who might be living there..."

Qrow doesn't need to finish his sentence for Ozpin to understand the implication. From what Ruby has told them, the Freelancers are in control of forty-four frontier towns all across Remnant and with the smallest towns having a militia of around a hundred people and larger towns having some in the upper hundreds, he can finally understand how the Freelancers have so many among their ranks.

"That's not all. After a bit of convincing on my part, I've also found out that the Freelancers are mining up Dust as well" said Qrow, having been actually surprised when hearing about that. "A few of the towns have their own Dust mines and they also got all the workers they could possibly need to work in them."

"That would explain how they get their Dust, since I highly doubt Jacque Schnee would sell his Dust to the same military who has been attacking his mines" remarked Ozpin, knowingly.

"You mean slave camps" deadpanned Qrow, knowing exactly what goes down in the Schnee Dust Mines. Everyone knows about what happens in the mines, but nobody has ever cared enough to actually do something about it. Except for the White Fang and Freelancers, but the Freelancers do so with much less bloodshed. "The Freelancers actually attacking those mines are the only good thing they've done."

"Which hasn't made them friends with either the SDC or with Atlas itself" stated Ozpin. "James hasn't been to keen with the Freelancers being here to act as security."

Qrow chuckles. "I bet not. Poor guy would have a heart attack, if not for us knowing his heart is made of steel."

"If you're so willing to make your jokes about James, maybe you would like to tell them to him, face-to-face."

Qrow quirks an eyebrow. "Oh~? And how am I going to do that? The Vytal Festival is still two weeks and by the time he shows up, I'll be long gone."

"While true, James has decided to change his plans. He'll be arriving with his fleet in seven days" answered Ozpin, smirking at seeing Qrow look at him in surprise.

"What made Jimmy decide to run away from home so early?" asked a curious Qrow.

"The Freelancers. That's what."

**( Mountain Glenn - Merlot Industries Facility )**

Jaune slashes a Beowolf down the middle with Crocea Mors whilst Pathfinder shoots a Creep through its eye and Nash blows a hole in an Ursa's stomach. So far, they've been walking through a lone hallway in Merlot's facility and have encountered several Grimm, but none that cause them much trouble.

"Looks like the Grimm Merlot stored here managed to escape" stated Jaune, taking out his Wingman Pistol from its holster and firing at incoming Grimm.

**( Wingman - Apex Legends )**

"Grimm are exterminated" stated Pathfinder, sniping the last Beowolf. "Shall we proceed?"

"We shall" nodded Jaune, holding Crocea Mors in his right hand and his pistol in his left as he walks down the hallway with Nash in front and Pathfinder watching the rear. After two minutes of walking down the empty hallway, the trio come across a large open doorway.

Suspicious, Jaune and his androids step through the doorway and soon find themselves in what looks to be a large lab. In said lab are several consoles that line up the walls while a few cages are piled up by the wall in front of them. From the size of the cages, it's obvious that they were used to capture Grimm, although from the bent cage bars, it looks like the Grimm managed to escape.

"Spread out and search for any information you can find. Download anything useful and then delete all files from the system. I would rather not imagine what would happen if someone got their hands on Merlot's research" told Jaune as he moves to holster his sword.

However, his sword only gets halfway into its sheath before the sound of an inhuman growl echoes off the walls of the lab. Immediately, the Freelancer General and androids all aim their weapons towards the pile of cages on the other side of the room.

They soon find out the source of the noise when the cages are suddenly knocked into the air by a large green claw. Pathfinder steps to its right to avoid a cage while Nash rolls away to avoid one, only to be hit with another before it can dodge again.

Jaune leans his head to the side to avoid the edge of a cage hitting his head before he swings Crocea Mors and cuts another incoming cage in half so it can pass by him harmlessly. After avoiding the cages, Jaune focuses his attention to the opposite side of the room and sees none other than a lone Ursa, although it's obvious from its appearance that this Ursa isn't a part of its normal breed.

Ursa Minors are known to have black fur covering their entire body with white bony spikes on their arms and back while having white bone-like masks to cover their faces. Ursa Majors have the same appearance as their younger counterparts, only that they're much bigger and possess more bone plates on their back and arms. The Ursa standing in the room with Jaune and his androids is definitely unlike any Ursa Minor or even Major.

The Ursa is much bigger than an Ursa Major and it has much more bony spikes on its body, but what's even stranger is that those bony spikes are all coloured green instead of white. Its eyes which are suppose to be a blood red are instead, glowing an eery green, similar to the green mist that pours out of its mouth when it let's out a breath.

Neither Pathfinder or Nash recognize the strange Grimm, but Jaune does.

_"Mutant Grimm" _thought Jaune, gritting his teeth in disgust for the abomination. Even in death, Dr. Merlot's horrendous research continues to haunt him. From its appearance, it's obvious that this Ursa has been infected with Merlot's Mutant Formula, making it the disgusting abomination that it is today, but unfortunately, it has also made the Grimm far stronger than any Ursa should be.

Just the sight of the Mutant Grimm has Jaune recall the time he spent on Merlot's island after his Bullhead crashed onto it and none of his time there has been good. Not when he has had to deal with Grimm like the one he's facing off against now on a daily basis.

Cracking his neck, Jaune takes a battle stance and prepares to fight the first Mutant Grimm he has seen after ten whole years.

**xXx**

Page 15 of 15


	10. Capture the Objective

**Author's Note: I don't read reviews so if you see any mistakes or have something to say, PM me. **

**Enjoy. **

**xXx**

"Spread out and attack it from all sides!" ordered Jaune as he begins firing his Wingman at the Mutant Ursa.

"Rojer that, creator" responded Pathfinder who runs towards the right while stopping periodically to fire at the Mutant Grimm. Nash responds by running to the left while firing at the Grimm's ankles with its Shotgun.

The Mutant Ursa roars at the Human and Androids, finding their attacks to be more annoying than painful. Focusing its attention on the one who's causing the most damage, the Mutant Ursa rears its arm back while at the same time, the bone spikes on its arm glow a brighter green. When the Grimm swings its arm, the spikes on its arm are released and thrown at its intended target.

"Uh oh" muttered Pathfinder who runs faster to avoid the glowing bone spikes. The bone spikes are driven into the metal walls and consoles, but Pathfinder remains intact, having just barely rolled forward to dodge the last bone spike.

"Pathfinder, get out of there!" warned Jaune, knowing that the attack isn't finished yet.

Pathfinder looks at the bone spikes that are embedded in the wall and consoles before it notices them beginning to glow even brighter. In an instant, Pathfinder figures out what is about to happen so it quickly aims its left arm towards the ceiling and fires its attached grappling hook. Once the hook latches onto the ceiling, it begins reeling in Pathfinder, just in time for the Android to avoid the detonation of the bone spikes.

The Mutant Grimm rears back it's other arm, preparing to launch another volley of bone spikes at the airborne Android, but a crescent of Aura collides into its side, causing the Grimm to stop its attack and fall to the floor.

Having been the one to launch the crescent of Aura at the Grimm, Jaune doesn't let up and runs towards the Mutant Grimm, hoping to finish the fight sooner rather than later. With a burst of Aura, Jaune jumps high into the air and raises Crocea Mors above his head, preparing to strike down the Grimm by piercing his blade into the Grimm's skull.

However, in its blind rage, the Mutant Ursa rises from the floor faster than Jaune anticipated and randomly starts swinging its large paws around. One of its random swings manages to hit the airborne Jaune who has no way to avoid the large appendage and so, he's thrown straight into the wall, making a rather big dent with his body.

Such a blow would have severely hurt, if not kill other Hunters, but not Jaune who quickly pushes himself out of the crater in the wall and continues his battle with the Mutant Grimm like as if nothing had just happened. Due to Jaune's massive Aura reserves and his Semblance, _Aura Amplification, _Jaune can amplify his Aura to the point where lethal blows such as the one he just suffered mean nothing to him. As long as he has Aura to sustain his Semblance, then he can enhance his durability, as well as his strength, speed and endurance.

The Mutant Ursa roars to prepare a clash with the Freelancer General and just as it's about to charge at the incoming Human, it suddenly feels a pain in its left hind leg. Catching itself with its front legs before it can fully collapse, the Grimm sees Nash running behind it while firing its Shotgun at its hind legs so to prevent its mobility.

With the Grimm distracted, Jaune uses the moment to dash across the laboratory with one kick off the floor and jumps over the stunned Grimm. While flying over the Ursa's head, Jaune spins while in midair and swiftly cuts through the back of the Grimm's neck. With his Aura enhancing his blade, Crocea Mors easily cuts through the thick muscle and bone plates that protects the Mutant Grimm's neck.

Flipping forward in the air, Jaune lands on top of the Mutant Ursa's back and sheaths his blade as the Grimm's head rolls off of its body. Not giving himself a second to take a breath, he turns towards his Androids and points towards the exit. "RUN!"

The Androids don't need to be told twice as they quickly make a run for the exit and they are quickly followed by Jaune who doesn't need to look back to know that the Mutant Grimm's corpse is already bloating up and glowing. The lone Human and two Androids make their trek down the abandoned hallway before they eventually see the exit. Just as they're a couple feet away from the door, the Mutant Grimm's corpse explodes. The explosion results in a domino effect as all the fragile equipment in the facility begins erupting into a series of explosions that quickly envelop the entire building.

As Jaune and the Androids run through the exit, the explosions quickly catch up to them with one last explosion detonating by the exit, launching the three high in the air.

Jaune rights himself in the air and lands on his feet, although he does skid across the concrete floor for nearly forty feet so to help slow himself down. Just in case, he engulfs his body with amplified Aura to protect himself from any flames or rubble that hit off his body.

While in the air, Pathfinder fires its grapplic hook at a nearby building and holds on for dear life until the force of the explosion gives over.

Unlike its creator and fellow Android, Nash has no way to avoid sustaining damage and so, rolls across the floor while protecting its most vital parts. Nash does manage to stop itself, but only because it crashes into the side of an old abandoned car.

Once the explosion subsides, Pathfinder drops down from the building it latched onto while Jaune runs over to Nash who's leaning against the car it hit into. "Let's check and see how banged up you are" said Jaune, noticing a few dents in Nash's armour, as well as a few sparks of electricity.

Jaune gets a much more detailed description of the damage done to Nash when he uses his bionic eye to scan Nash's body. All it takes is a couple of seconds for Jaune to see all the damage done to the Android. "Looks like there's nothing to worry about. Just a few dents and a loose wire. Nothing an hour in my lab can't fix."

Nash's worried facial expression changes to a happy green smile, although it does blink on and off for a few moments.

Jaune turns to Pathfinder who appears to have little to no damage done to its body. "Pathfinder, help Nash to the Bullhead. I think it's safe to assume that whatever research Dr. Merlot had in that facility is now gone" he stated, turning around to look at the burning remains of the facility. Just as he says that, the burning building collapses on itself, burying whatever might have survived underneath the rubble. Not even Mutant Grimm could survive such an explosion, nor the rubble collapsing on top of them.

In Jaune's opinion, Mutant Grimm are an abomination to nature, even when compared to their regular breeds. Where's regular Grimm fade away upon death, Mutant Grimm have the annoying tendency to explode when they die.

Jaune can never forget the first time he had witnessed a Mutant Grimm explode after death. It happened four days after his Bullhead was shot down and forced to crash land onto Dr. Merlot's private island. On Merlot's island, several species of Grimm roamed the land, including different versions of Mutant Grimm that Merlot had created for his research. To Jaune's misfortune, he ended up as Merlot's guinea pig to test his new Mutant Grimm, just because he was the lone survivor of his Bullhead crash.

The first Mutant Grimm that Jaune had found and killed was a lone Mutant Beowolf and like any other Mutant version of Grimm, it was bigger, stronger and faster than the rest of its species. Honestly, it was only adrenaline and pure luck that he managed to kill it in the first place, but he recalls how the Grimm's corpse glowed even brighter after its death. Fascinated by how the Grimm glowed instead of dispersing into a mist, he had naively stepped closer to the glowing corpse and by the time he realized what was happening, it was too late.

The Mutant Grimm exploded and Jaune paid for his incompetence with his arm.

"Creator, we are ready to go" stated Pathfinder, standing by the ramp of the Bullhead after it strapped Nash down in a seat.

Jaune nods as he gazes at the burning wreckage of Dr. Merlot's facility for a few more seconds before he walks into the Bullhead with his head down and a phantom pain crawling up his mechanical arm.

**( One Day Later - Vale )**

"Jaune? Are you alright?"

Jaune gets shaken out of his thoughts when he hears Pyrrha's concerned voice. Looking up from his cup of tea, Jaune remembers that he's sitting outside a cafe with his former teammates who had invited him out to catch up.

The Freelancer General smiles at his former partner to reassure her. "Sorry, just got lost in my thoughts."

"I told you to slow down when you're talking, Nora" said Ren while Nora looks at her partner like as if he just told her he's taking away her supply of pancakes.

"Ren~! You're embarrassing me in front of Fearless Leader" moaned Nora while puffing her cheeks out and folding her arms across her chest.

Jaune looks over at Nora and Ren, noticing a certain energy between the two. "By the way, I was meaning to ask this for a while, but are you two going out with each other?"

The question caught everyone off guard, but Jaune gets his answer after he sees Ren and Nora blush. "So it's true."

"For nearly two years after next month" informed Pyrrha, having been there when Nora brought Ren down to her level for a passionate kiss. It had been after a tense mission where any of them could've died in. Everyone knew it was inevitable so they had all placed bets on when the two would get together and somebody did win the big betting pot at the end.

Ruby slept that night with a big smile on her face and seven hundred Lien richer.

Jaune nods with a smile, having thought the two would make a good couple during his short time on the team. "Congratulations to the both of you. I wish you two all the best in your endeavors."

Ren smiles and nods back to his former Team Leader. "Thank you, Jaune."

Nora laughs, boisterously. "Renny will need all the luck in the world to keep up with me!"

Jaune and Pyrrha finds Nora's words amusing while Ren sighs with a small tinge of pink covering his cheeks.

Pyrrha turns towards her former partner and can't help but sneak glances at his left mechanical arm and right artificial eye. She wants to ask Jaune how he suffered from such wounds, but she can't figure out a way to ask without sounding rude.

Ignorant to Pyrrha's thoughts, Jaune decides to ask a question that has been eating at him for a while now. "Now that I've got you here, there's been a question I've been meaning to ask of you as well, Pyrrha."

Pyrrha looks at Jaune, curiously while Nora gasps out for some reason while Ren shakes his head, knowing what Nora is probably thinking. "What is it?" Pyrrha asked, tilting her head curiously.

"Since I've been here, I've been hearing rumors of a cult that revolves around you. That's not true, is it?" asked Jaune, remembering the stories he has heard from his Freelancers who had met men and women who are members of a cult that apparently worships the _Invincible Woman. _

Nora deflates in disappointment while Ren coughs into his fist and Pyrrha blushes in embarrassment. "W-Well..." murmured Pyrrha, having trouble with trying to explain that to her former partner.

Jaune looks at Pyrrha in surprise and a bit of worry. "Seriously? How on Remnant did you get a cult of all things?"

"It's not like I wanted people to make a cult about me. It's just that I've always been famous, even before Beacon, but after I graduated, all my fans started to get a bit... extreme" answered an embarrassed Pyrrha.

"Some were a bit more extreme than others, but anyone who would try to do anything weird or dangerous to Pyrra, Nora would deal with them" said Ren, pointing to Nora who chuckles, menacingly.

"I broke so many legs" she chuckled like a villain from a Spruce Willis movie.

If not for the fact that Jaune already knows Nora's loyalty is with Ozpin, he would have offered her a position among his Freelancers. Her skill and personality would mesh very well with a lot of Freelancers, especially Texas. Jaune shakes his head and rests his head on his right hand. "The things some people will do" he sighed, dejectedly over the idiocy of some people.

"But that's enough about us. I think we would like to know more about you, Jaune" stated Ren, looking at Jaune from across the table. From Jaune's right and left, Pyrrha and Nora nod in agreement.

Jaune doesn't react, having suspected that his former teammates would want to know more about him. "Oh? What would you like to know?"

"How about the fact that you've got your own private army!" exclaimed Nora, standing up from her seat while raising her hands in the air. As if to prove her point, a squad of patrolling Freelancers walk by the cafe and upon seeing their General sitting just outside the cafe, they perform a respectful salute before Jaune waves them off. "See! How'd you pull all that off?" asked Nora, referring to how Freelancers showing such respect to her former Team Leader.

Jaune shrugs his shoulders with a smirk. "What can I say? Some people wanted a leader and I gave them one. It's honestly that simple."

_"I highly doubt that" _thought Pyrrha, looking up at the giant Freelancer airship in the sky and the Bullheads that are flying around it in a protective formation. "But how did it all start? Forgive me if I overstep, but how could you possibly have gained the resources needed to make the Freelancers in the first place?"

Jaune pauses as a memory flashes before his eyes.

**( Ten Years Ago - Merlot's Island ) **

_Over a month has passed by since Jaune crash landed on the island and he has changed far more than he could have realized. No longer is he the scraggly and naive teenager who dreamed of becoming a Huntsman from before. _

_Now, Jaune stands with his toned and scarred chest displayed to the world, having lost the remains of his Pumpkin Pete hoodie weeks ago after a particularly difficult fight with a pack of Beowolves. His jeans are no longer pants and more of a cut up pair of jean shorts while his feet are bare, having lost his shoes after a Boarbatusk knocked him off a cliff. _

_After weeks of suffering on the Grimm infested island, Jaune had finally found the owner of the island in an underground facility and after hours of trekking through the facility and killing all sorts of Mutant Beowolves, Ursai and even a Mutant Deathstalker, Jaune now has Dr. Merlot where he wants him. _

_Said man is currently standing before Jaune with his back leaning against the wall of the facility's control room while he uses his right robotic arm to try and stop the blood from spilling out of the wound from his severed left arm. Said severed arm is currently lying a few feet away from the Doctor, having been sliced off by Jaune the moment he found Merlot in the flesh and not from one side of a television screen._

_Even though his arm has been severed, Dr. Merlot still manages to keep up an arrogant grin. "You are far more impressive than I first believed you to be, child" said Dr. Merlot, chuckling to himself. "The amount of research I attained from witnessing you fight my creations is beyond priceless. I am lucky to have shot down your Bullhead once I saw it on my radar." _

_Jaune says nothing, not because of any courtesy or respect, but because he wants to savor this moment. He has been longing for this after the first time Merlot mocked him over the speakers. Even now, his lone arm shakes in both anticipation and exhaustion as adrenaline pumps into his body, granting Jaune a moment where he can no longer feel the aching pains from his missing left arm or of the pain of having his eye gouged. After his right eye was destroyed upon his first day of ending up on the island, Jaune has been using a makeshift eyepatch that he made up with a sleeve from his Pumpkin Pete hoodie. He has also used the remains of his hoodie to tie up the remains of his missing arm so to stop the flow of blood. _

_At some point through Merlot's prattling, Jaune's self-control shatters. _

_Even with one arm, one eye and the near depletion of his Aura, Jaune manages to find the strength needed to pierce Crocea Mors straight through Dr. Merlot's chest and through the metal wall behind him. _

_Panting from both physical and mental exhaustion, Jaune let's go of his blade which is now embedded into the wall with the dying Merlot hanging off of it. Jaune takes a step back, taking deep breathes while watching Dr. Merlot take his own final breaths. _

_Knowing that he has just killed someone should have brought some sort of feeling of disgust or horror to Jaune Arc, but those feelings never did make an appearance. Instead, Jaune studies Merlot's dying form, watching as Merlot's breathing turns rapid before quickly slowing down. How the insane light in the man's eyes soon fades. How Merlot's blood spills from Crocea Mors and out of his own mouth with every cough he makes. _

_Disgust and horror may be the feelings that Jaune Arc of old would have felt, but for the Jaune Arc who has spent every day for the past six weeks fighting for survival, he can only feel euphoria and serenity. _

_Faster than Jaune would have liked, the life in Merlot's eyes fades away and the insane doctor's body goes limp, only remaining standing because Crocea Mors is embedded in the wall behind him. _

_Taking a deep breath, Jaune raises his head and closes his eyes. Letting out all the air in his lungs, Jaune can't help but sigh in satisfaction. With Merlot dead, he can finally allow himself a moment of rest, even if said rest involves him finally allowing himself to drift off to death. _

_**"Greetings, Jaune Arc." **_

_Whatever euphoria that Jaune feels is quickly washed away after he hears an unknown female voice through the facility's speaker system. Faster than a lunging Beowolf, Jaune pulls out Crocea Mors from Merlot's corpse and takes a fighting stance, even if said stance is amateurish at best, due to his lack of training and his lack of two arms. _

_"Who are you?!" demanded Jaune, turning his head rapidly so he can keep an eye out so no one can attack him from behind. After living on the island for so long, Jaune has come to understand that Grimm will attack you at any time of the day and they don't care what you're doing when they do so. Still, Jaune finds it harder than usual to keep an eye out on his surroundings when he has only half of his depth perception. _

_**"Please don't be alarmed. I mean you no harm." **_

_"Forgive me for not believing in you. I haven't exactly been enjoying my time spent here on this island" scoffed Jaune with distrust for the woman. _

_**"Understandable. Dr. Merlot has not been courteous to any 'guests' he invites to the island. Now that he's deceased, I don't think that will be a problem anymore."**_

_Slowly, Jaune lowers his blade and looks around the empty room, suspiciously. "You don't sound too disappointed with his death" he noted, believing that the woman must be some sort of acquaintance with Merlot. _

_**"While I do thank Dr. Merlot for creating me, I have never enjoyed his scientific exploits. I could never see the logic in his research." **_

_"Creating you?" Jaune repeated, strangely. "Who exactly are you?"_

_**"My apologies. I never did introduce myself. I am the Freelancer Integrated Logistics and Security System. You may call me F.I.L.S.S., it is a pleasure to meet you." **_

_Jaune widens his eyes in realization. "You're not a person. You're an Artificial Intelligence." _

_**"Correct. Dr. Merlot programmed me to assist him with all Merlot Industries proceedings. After the destruction of the company, I was assigned to watch over the security of this island. I was the one who had spotted your Transport Bullhead on the radar."**_

_Jaune's temper begins to get the better of him. "So it was you who shot down my Bullhead?!" he yelled at the Artificial Intelligence._

_**"Incorrect. Following my programs protocol, I informed Dr. Merlot who then ordered me to shoot down your aircraft. I never intended to cause you any harm, but I cannot go against my programming. I hope you can understand." **_

_As much as Jaune wants to stay mad at the Artificial Intelligence, hearing how sad F.I.L.S.S. is makes it hard for him to do so. He can't really blame the A.I. for doing what its creator made it do. "I guess I can understand that." _

_**"That's wonderful news!" **_

_Jaune looks around the room, awkwardly. "So, now what? Where do we go from here?" _

_**"With Dr. Merlot now deceased, I am no longer obligated to follow his instructions. With you being the only Human alive, that makes you the sole owner of the island, including all the equipment and resources Dr. Merlot has left behind." **_

_Jaune has to take a moment for him to come to terms with what F.I.L.S.S. is saying. "I'm sorry, what? How does that make me the owner of the island?"_

_**"None of the four Kingdoms hold any legal ownership of this island so after Dr. Merlot discovered it, he took ownership of it himself. With his death, there is nobody else, but yourself to claim ownership of the island and all of Dr. Merlot's belongings that are held within." **_

_Jaune walks over to the room's lone window and looks out to see what looks like a hanger bay which is filled with crates, machines and even a couple of Bullheads. "This is all mine?" he whispered to himself. He has spent the last six weeks on the island and every second of it has been miserable. Anyone else would have wanted to take one of the Bullheads and fly as far away from the island as possible, but not Jaune. _

_For Jaune, he has always wanted to be a Hero, just like his ancestors. Going to Beacon Academy seemed like the perfect way to make that dream a reality, but that dream died after he got expelled for his fake transcripts. _

_But now, with all the supplies and equipment that Dr. Merlot has left behind, he can actually do some good. He may not be a Huntsman, but he can become something else. Something better. _

_Recalling the first word of what F.I.L.S.S.'s initials stand for, Jaune has an idea spring up in the corners of his mind. "Freelancer..." _

_**"Excuse me, but I've noticed that you are currently missing an eye and a limb. If you want, I can install mechanical replacements for them. Dr. Merlot always did like to have spares, just in case one of his own mechanical appendages needed replacing."**_

_Jaune stares out at his island and smiles for the first time in six weeks. _

_"I would like that very much." _

**xXx**

"An... acquaintance had passed away some time after my expulsion and had left me with an inheritance. With what he left me, I was given the opportunity to make something important. Something that can finally make a change in our world."

Neither Ren or Pyrrha fully believe Jaune's story about getting an inheritance, but they focus on Jaune's new topic. "To make a change in the world?" asked Ren.

"Humans and Faunus are dying. Each passing day, the Grimm gain more ground on us. If not for the Freelancers out there, the frontier towns would have all fallen years ago and even now, we struggle to keep the territory we already have. We as a species are in near extinction and the constant fighting between one another isn't helping either. If a change doesn't happen soon, the Kingdoms will fall within the next twenty years, if not sooner. Humans and Faunus will become extinct and the Grimm will reign supreme as the lone species on the planet."

The seriousness of Jaune's words and his facial expression has made the remaining members of Team (J)NPR gulp in nervousness. Pyrrha shakes her head in disbelief. "T-That can't be true. Yes, we're on the defensive, but we aren't that badly off" stated a hopeful Pyrrha.

Nora shouts her words in agreement with Pyrrha, but they both notice Ren not giving his own encouragement. In fact, he's looking down at the table with his shaking hands gripping onto his cup of herbal tea. "He's right."

"Ren?" murmured Nora in surprise.

"I've known for a while now. I just didn't want to believe it" Ren admitted to his teammates. Like everyone else, he wants to live in denial and believe that they are actually making a difference in the fight against evil. Yet, every time he goes outside the Kingdom's walls, all he can see is death and destruction. Even with Pyrrha possessing half of the Fall Maiden's power and Ruby using the power of her Silver Eyes, they've hardly done anything to actually push back the Grimm.

With every Grimm they kill, ten more take its place. It's vicious cycle of death and destruction that never ends.

Jaune nods in understanding. "I'm happy to see that at least pne of you are aware of what's to come. If we don't take this war to the Grimm soon, then we all die."

Pyrrha looks over at her former partner and frowns. "Take the war to the Grimm? And how are we suppose to do that?"

Just as Jaune opens his mouth to answer, a Dog Faunus Freelancer steps up to their table and salutes to his General. "I apologize for disturbing you, General, but the Commander has ordered me to bring you back to the Bridge" he reported, trying to stop his tail from wagging.

"Did he specify on why, private?" Jaune asked, noticing the symbol of soldier's low rank on the right shoulder of his blue-coloured Mjolnir armour.

The Freelancer nods his head. "He did, sir. It involves the upcoming mission against the White Fang."

Jaune hums to himself before he turns to his former teammates and offers an apologetic smile. "Sorry about this, but it looks like I'll have to cut our talk short. Duty calls."

"Is there anything you want us to help you with?" asked Pyrrha while everyone stands up from the table. "We could provide assistance in fighting with the White Fang."

Jaune shakes his head. "Thank you for offering, but my Freelancers can handle this on their own. I'll see you guys at the tournament" he said, waving before he walks down the road with the Freelancer Private following right behind him.

Pyrrha, Nora and Ren can only stare at the back of their former leader as he walks away. "Sometimes, I find it hard to believe that man was once our clumsy leader all those years ago" said Ren with a small smile on his face as he remembers back to his first year in Beacon.

Nora giggles while Pyrrha smiles a strained smile. "True" Pyrrha agreed before her strained smile fades away into a thoughtful frown. "Although, I think he might be right."

Nora and Ren turn to Pyrrha. "Right about what?" asked a curious Nora.

"That maybe it's about time we took this fight to the Grimm."

**( Mother of Invention - Bridge )**

Jaune steps through the automatic doors and sees everyone on the Bridge is hard at work. Standing beside the holographic table is Commander Jensen, as well as Bloodhound who is an enigma to everyone, including Jaune.

Nobody actually knows much about the Freelancer and that includes what gender they might be or what they actually look like. Bloodhound may be the most secretive person Jaune has ever met and he has met Ozpin many times before. Still, while Bloodhound's enigma is slightly off putting, that doesn't mean their skills are unappreciated.

Just as their name would imply, Bloodhound is a tracker and the best among the Freelancers. If they need someone to be found, Bloodhound is sent in as they can track anything, wither they be Human, Faunus or even specific Grimm. In fact, Bloodhound's tracking skills are so good that they had managed to find the Branwen tribe and did so without being detected, a feat that is impressive as the Branwen tribe never stayed in one location for long.

Bloodhound adorns a strange suit of Mjolnir armour that is coloured a mix of green and brown. Pouches filled with who knows what adorns their chest and their helmet looks to have a red gas mask attached to it. The armour makes it difficult to tell what gender Bloodhound really is and any questions about their gender is only met with vague riddles. What Jaune does know about Bloodhound's armour is that it's equipped with technology that helps them in their tracking.

**( Bloodhound - Apex Legends )**

"Bloodhound" greeted Jaune, stepping up to the holographic table while nodding to the tracker.

"General" answered Bloodhound while the raven on their shoulder caws.

"Bloodhound has just recently completed the mission you assigned them" told Adam as he pressed a holographic button on the table before a holographic image of what looks like an old warehouse appears on the table.

Bloodhound takes over as they start pointing out at different spots of the warehouse. "The White Fang have been using painted symbols on walls to lead hopeful recruits to this location. All I had to do was follow the trail and it led me straight to this warehouse where they are going to run a recruitment drive tonight."

"Any info on their numbers?" asked Jaune, looking over the detailed holographic image of the warehouse.

"I counted over sixty, including Lieutenant Banesaw who will be in attendance" explained Bloodhound who folds their arms across their chest.

Adam doesn't like the sound of that. "Over sixty White Fang terrorists, including Lieutenant Banesaw? This sounds like a trap" stated Adam, struggling to believe that the White Fang would have so many of their own in one spot, just to rally some recruits. Then there's Banesaw who is a known Lieutenant among the White Fang.

Jaune rubs his chin in thought. "True. However, it just might be their way to improve their image to the hopeful recruits. Makes them look strong if they show off their numbers to them, even under the threat of us taking notice. Having a known member like Banesaw in attendance will also further improve their strong image to the recruits. However, Banesaw being in Vale has me worried for a whole different reason" stated Jaune as he looks over the holographic images Bloodhound had taken of the warehouse. The images are mostly of the White Fang terrorists who are seen walking in and out of the warehouse, but he focuses more on the image of Banesaw which shows him conversing with another White Fang terrorist. "If Banesaw is here, then that means there is a high probability of an even worst threat showing up."

"Taurus" answered Jensen, frowning at the thought of Adam Taurus being involved. It's known information that Banesaw is the second-in-command to Adam Taurus so if he's in Vale, then it's likely by the orders of Taurus.

Most White Fang terrorists lack any actual skill in battle as they are only truly dangerous when in large numbers, but there are some who are dangerous in their own right. Banesaw is one such individual, but Adam Taurus is on a different league entirely.

Over the years, Adam Taurus has become a very powerful and respected member among the White Fang. The Faunus is a powerful and skilled fighter who has slaughtered many Hunters without mercy, especially to those Humans who are unfortunate enough to fight him. If Adam Taurus is involved with the _Breach_, then that means everything is only going to get worse before it gets any better. Taurus's hatred for Humans is only matched with his bloodlust.

"Let's focus on one thing at a time" said Jaune as he leans his hands against the holographic table. "Tukson mentioned something about the White Fang unveiling something. Any idea of what that might be?" he asked the question to Bloodhound.

"I've seen them transfer something large into the warehouse. I didn't see all of it, because it was covered in a tarp, but from the size of it alone, I believe that it must be an Atlesian Paladin" informed Bloodhound.

"Showing off that they've stolen from Atlas will definitely make them look good to the recruits" said Adam who rubs the bridge of his nose. Every day that they are stationed in Vale is another day of stress.

"Luckily for us, the warehouse is situated by the docks so that'll keep any civilian casualties to the absolute minimum" said Jaune, already thinking of a plan to disturb the White Fang recruitment drive. "I want Freelancers to be stationed around the warehouse and for them to be ready to move in when they see the signal" told Jaune, knowing that his Commander is memorizing the orders. "I also want snipers on the rooftops and boats out on the waters. I will not give the terrorists any chance to escape."

"Sir, what about the innocent bystanders?" asked Bloodhound.

"If the White Fang are risking exposure by showing themselves by the docks in their uniforms, I am guessing that they've taken measures to avoid any civilians from seeing them so I'm not worried about any bystanders being nearby when the fighting goes down. However, if there are any civilians in the area, I want them escorted out, but be sure that they're not White Fang in disguise first" Jaune ordered, getting a nod of confirmation from Adam. It wouldn't surprise either of them if the White Fang have their people in civilian garb so to act as disguised lookouts. "I also want eyes on the inside of that warehouse."

"You want to send in a few of our Faunus Freelancers in disguise?" asked Adam, making an educated guess. It would be simple to have some of their Faunus Freelancers enter the warehouse, pretending to join up with the terrorist organization.

However, Jaune shakes his head. "That's a risk I'm not willing to make. They'll be without their Mjolnir armour and the guards will most likely check for any weapons on their person. I'm not going to send anyone to a upcoming warzone without a weapon to protect themselves. No, I want scouts inside the warehouse to give me eyes, as well as to attack from the inside when the signal is sent."

"So the mission objective is to either kill or restrain every White Fang member. What of the potential recruits?" asked Adam, referring to the civilian Faunus who will be at the recruitment drive.

"I want them put under arrest. They have a dangerous mindset if they're willing to join the White Fang, but they aren't official members yet. We'll give them a warning and inform the council of who they are before letting them go" Jaune answered, seeing the recruits as no actual threat, as long as they don't officially join up with the White Fang. "That is the primary objective. The secondary objective is the capture of this man" he told, pointing at the holographic image of Banesaw.

Adam can understand where Jaune is coming from. If they capture a high-ranking member of the White Fang, then they just might be able to gain some info on their upcoming plans.

"I'll prep up the teams, immediately" informed Adam before he turns towards the doorway.

Jaune stops him before he can get far. "Adam, I want you to lead this mission."

"Sir?"

"If this mission is successful, we might be able to prevent a major catastrophe from happening. We can't afford to fail this mission so I want you leading it" explained Jaune, making sure that Adam can understand his tone of voice. Jaune isn't asking Adam as a friend, but is ordering him as his superior officer.

An emotionless Adam stares at Jaune for a moment before nodding his head in respect. "Of course, sir." With that said, Adam turns to leave and prepare for the mission.

Bloodhound turns to the General and salutes. "By your leave, General" they said before leaving the Bridge as well, leaving Jaune to look over the holographic images of the warehouse so he can plan strategy.

**( Vale - Docks )**

In an alleyway by the docks, Commander Adam Jensen can be found studying the warehouse that's being used by the White Fang to recruit Faunus to their cause. Even now, he can see a crowd of Faunus being shown in by a member of the White Fang. While Adam's dark attire helps him to blend in with his environment, he can't use the darkness of the night to his advantage, due to all Faunus having night vision so he is extra careful when keeping out of the enemy's sight.

Adam steps back into the alleyway and presses a finger to his left ear so he can activate the communication device. "Delta Squad, are you in position?"

On the rooftop of the warehouse that's situated on the right side of the warehouse the White Fang are occupying, Wyoming and three other Freelancer can be found. Using their Active Camouflage Armour Enhancements, the four Freelancers are invisible to the four White Fang scouts who are keeping watch on their own rooftop. "We're in position. Just awaiting your order" told Locus as he and his team step back so they are standing by the edge of the rooftop.

"Move in" ordered Adam before he activates his own full-body camouflage and runs towards the front entrance of the White Fang's warehouse. From what he can see, there's only one terrorist watching the entrance so it won't take him long.

Wyoming doesn't reply and instead, runs across the rooftop with his squad following after him. When the four Freelancers reach the other side of the roof, they jump and easily make over the gap between the two warehouses. Once they've landed on the rooftop of the White Fang's warehouse, the four Freelancers immediately charge the scouts. By the time the White Fang scouts realize what's happening, they're already being subdued and quickly killed.

Once the scouts have been properly neutralized, Wyoming opens one of the rooftop windows and jumps down onto the overhanging catwalk, just after a White Fang terrorist walks by. Obviously, the terrorist hears the sound of a heavy suit of armour landing behind him and so turns around with their gun ready to fire. Wyoming pushes the terrorist's rifle away with one hand and uses his other to stab a taser into the side of their neck. The Faunus collapses with Wyoming catching the body before it can make any noise.

With the other enemies on the other side of the catwalk, Wyoming signals two of his teammates to quickly hide the body on the roof before he and the rest of his team move up so they can all get into position.

At the same time, an invisible Adam runs up to the entrance and grabs a stone from the ground before throwing it at the other side of the White Fang guard. Obviously, the terrorist turns towards the source of the noise, leaving his back open for Adam who runs up and quickly wraps an arm around his neck. The surprised Faunus grabs onto the mechanical arm that's wrapped around his neck and tries to pry it off, but ultimately fails as Adam snaps his neck as easily as snapping a twig.

After lowering the body to the floor, Adam turns towards the entrance door and uses his Wayfinder Radar System to see if there is anyone behind the door. With no dots appearing on his radar, Adam confirms that there are no enemies behind the door and so, he cloaks himself once again before he walks through the front door and finds himself in a hallway. After walking down said hallway, Adam's Wayfinder Radar System suddenly springs to life and reveals nearly a hundred red dots in the next room.

Quietly, Adam enters the next room and quickly finds himself in the main room of the warehouse which is completely filled with Faunus. With such little room to move in the very busy warehouse, Adam needs to move somewhere where there is little chance of a Faunus accidentally bumping into him. Spotting a pile of crates by the back of the crowd, he makes his way over to them while making sure to avoid hitting anyone from the crowd. Once he makes it to the pile of crates, Adam quickly climb up to the very top, giving him a clear view of the entire warehouse.

From his high position, Adam spots Wyoming neutralizing a White Fang terrorist on the catwalk before hiding the body on the rooftop. Once the terrorist's body is hidden from view, Adam watches as Delta Squad moves along the catwalk while making sure to kill anyone in their way. They then take their positions on the catwalk which is facing the direction everyone else is facing, towards the stage that's situated on the other side of the room.

None of the Freelancers fail to miss the large object on the stage which is covered up by a tarp that has the White Fang symbol on it.

As he crouches down to one knee while on top of the pile of crates, Adam is given a near bird's eye view of the room and sees that most of the occupants in the room are White Fang terrorists while the much smaller crowd are civilians who are there to possibly join the terrorist organization. While everyone may be wearing a White Fang mask, it's easy to tell who's already a member and who's a hopeful recruit. The left side of the crowd are all dressed up in White Fang uniforms, signifying that they are already members while the right side of the crowd are all dressed in regular street clothes, indicating that they are the hopeful recruits.

Just as he finishes his inspection of the warehouse, Adam sees their secondary objective step up to the centre of the stage. "I've got eyes on the target" he whispered to his communication device.

"Thank you all for coming" greeted Banesaw to the crowd. "For those of you who are joining us for the first time tonight, allow me to introduce a very special comrade of ours. I can assure you, he is the key to obtaining what we've fought for, for so long."

Adam fully expected Adam Taurus to be the one to step out from the side curtain, but much to his surprise, Roman Torchwick of all people walks to the centre of the stage with a confident swagger in his step.

Obviously, a lot of Faunus aren't happy with Roman showing up on stage, due to him being Human and all, but even with the obvious hostility from nearly everyone in the room being aimed at himself, Torchwick uses that silver tongue of his and quickly works his magic on the crowd. Throughout his speech, it's obvious from Adam's viewpoint that the criminal is getting through to the crowd of Faunus as the hostility soon fades away.

While Roman continues with his speech, Adam activates his communication device. "Torchwick has just made an appearance."

"Not just Torchwick" remarked Wyoming who is aiming down on the sights of his Sniper Rifle. Locus zooms in on a familiar individual who is standing by the background of the stage. "The woman from the train is also with them" he reported, recognizing the multicolored woman as one of the three who are wanted by the Freelancers.

**"We can't waste this opportunity. Stick with the plan, but if you can snatch up Torchwick, that'll be a bonus" **said Jaune who is watching the live feed from his soldier's helmets. Like them, Jaune is surprised by Torchwick's sudden appearance, but he won't look a horse in the mouth. With Roman's involvement in stealing Dust from the stores all across Vale, they might just find out the reason why he's supplying the White Fang and find out who the third party is.

Just as Jaune finishes his orders, Roman stops his speech and allows the tarp that's concealing the large object to fall to the floor behind him, showing off an Atlesian Paladin to everyone in the room.

The moment they reveal the Atlesian weapon, Adam gives the signal to every Freelancer. "Now!"

Wyoming and his squad don't need to be told twice. Unlatching the stun grenades from their belts, the Freelancers throw them down onto the crowd of Faunus. The sight of the grenades and the Freelancers surprise many, but before anyone can do anything, the grenades explode and release a flash of blinding bright light and a deafening sound.

To Humans, stun grenades make a complete mess of their senses, causing brief blindness, temporary deafness and the loss of balance.

For Faunus who have more sensitive senses, the stun grenades are an absolute living hell for them. Once the stun grenades go off, every Faunus in the surrounding area collapse to the floor in agony. Many grab their eyes or ears to try and sooth the unbearable pain, but their attempts do nothing to ease the pain.

Once the stun grenades have been released onto the crowd, Adam begins giving out more orders. "All troops move in. Secure the objectives!"

As most of the Faunus are in far to much pain and to stunned to realize what's happening around them, they don't see the warehouse walls blow up around them before Freelancers begin pouring in. Those White Fang terrorists who are in any sort of state to fight are quickly gunned down by the Freelancers on the ground floor or by Wyoming and his squad who are keeping watch from above.

While blinded for a moment, Roman quickly recovers himself and sees the Freelancers storming into the warehouse while also quickly making short work of any resistance. Those who are too stunned to fight are being arrested and are dragged out of the warehouse.

Having no choice but to make his escape, Roman makes a run for the Atlesian Paladin that's just sitting there behind him. However, just as he turns around, the feel of an invisible fist smacks him across the jaw, sending the thief back. While surprised by the sudden blow, Roman soon recovers by allowing his body to roll backwards before he stops himself while in a crouching position. The criminal looks around the stage to search for the culprit, but other than Banesaw who is still recovering from the stun grenades, there is no one else on the stage.

That's until Adam Jensen turns off his cloaking and reveals himself to the criminal. "Roman Torchwick, by order of the Vale Council and Freelancers, you are under arrest."

While surprised by the Freelancer Commander appearing out of nowhere, Roman keeps up his cocky persona. "Believe me, you're not the first ones the try and I can guarantee you that you won't be the last."

Adam slowly clenches his fists while glaring at Roman. "You can choose. We can do this either the easy way or the hard way.

"How cliche" Roman chuckled before aiming Melodic Cudgel at Adam and firing.

Without moving a step, Adam leans his body to the side and avoids the explosive round which flies past him and hits the wall behind him. Once the explosive projectile is avoided, Adam spreads his arms out and extends his Nanoblades from his mechanical arms. "Just remember, I gave you a choice."

Roman responds by firing at Adam who runs towards the criminal while easily avoiding the projectiles. Once Adam is too close to shoot at, Roman begins fighting the Freelancer in close combat.

The criminal and Freelancer Commander do battle with one another with one using his cane and another using a pair of blades that are sticking out of his arms. The pair show off their combat prowess by fighting each other with the speed and skill of experienced Hunters.

However, not even Roman can constantly keep up with Adam's powerful and precise attacks, especially when the man has nearly fifty percent of his body made up of mechanical augmentations, giving the Freelancer an unfair advantage in both strength and endurance.

After parrying one of Adam's Nanoblades and blocking the other, Roman is too slow to dodge an elbow to the face. The feel of Adam's mechanical elbow hitting his jaw stuns Roman for a moment, giving Adam the chance to perform a series of attacks with his blades. After dealing two cuts across the chest, Adam thrusts his left Nanoblade into Roman's stomach. Luckily for the thief, his Aura holds up and so, Roman is only thrown backwards across the stage, although the blow does knock the air out of his lungs.

Groaning, Roman slowly pushes himself back up to his feet and raises Melodic Cudgel to defend himself. A good thing he does so, because if he didn't, his face would have become good friends with Adam's fist. While Melodic Cudgel does manage to block the punch, the force of the blow has the weapon bend down the middle while Roman skids backwards a few feet. During the time of Roman skidding backwards, Adam runs after the criminal and swings his right arm at Roman's neck, performing a clothesline which has the thief perform a full backflip while also shattering his Aura.

Groaning in pain, Roman slowly opens his eyes, but soon finds his arms restrained behind his back while a mechanically enhanced Adam presses his knee into the thief's back. With no Aura, Roman can do nothing as Adam forces a pair of Gravity Dust cuffs onto his wrists. Said cuffs are designed in mind for people who have their Aura unlocked, since the Gravity Dust within the cuffs keep the cuffs forcefully locked together until they're deactivated. Not even someone with Maine's physical strength could hope to break out of a pair of cuffs.

After standing back up, Adam sees that his troops have the entire situation under control. Just as he's about to bend down and pick up Roman, the sound of a chainsaw fills Adam's ears. The Commander quickly turns around and crosses his Nanoblades in an X guard as Banesaw drops his Chainsaw down on him. Adam's Nanoblades hold strong against the chainsaw's spinning teeth, although the wooden planks beneath his feet crack from the strain of Banesaw pressing his entire weight down on Adam.

"I'm going to KILL YOU!" snarled Banesaw, pressing down on his Chainsaw even more. While his hearing hasn't come back yet and he's still seeing two of his enemy, that doesn't stop Banesaw from trying to kill one of the people who has just ruined everything for him.

Inwardly, Adam is impressed with Banesaw. Even after being hit with numerous stun grenades, the Faunus has managed to recover far faster than anyone else, although it's obvious from Banesaw's shaking head that he hasn't fully recovered. From reports, Adam knows that Banesaw uses a fighting style that focuses more on using his physical strength than by using actual techniques, but Adam can see why. Banesaw's physical strength is immense and if he was wearing a Mjolnir suit of armour, he might be able to match Maine in power.

Still, it's about time he ends this.

Adam stops holding the weight of Banesaw's weapon and takes a step to the right. The sudden shift in weight causes Banesaw to lose his balance and nearly falls on his face before he manages to catch himself. Not that it does him any good when Adam lands a punch across his jaw. Before the Faunus can fall onto his side, Adam grabs his left arm and twists it while at the same time, kicking Banesaw's feet out from under him. The large Faunus collapses to the floor with his left arm twisted behind his back and a heavily augmented man pressing a knee into his back. Banesaw begins to struggle and curse, but a powerful blow into the back of his head forces the Faunus into unconsciousness.

Taking out another pair of cuffs, Adam quickly latches them around Banesaw's wrists before instructing a pair of nearby Freelancers to take the unconscious Faunus to one of the Prison Transport Bullhead where the other White Fang terrorists are being taken. Roman is forced to follow them by another pair of Freelancers who leads him outside.

Adam rolls his right wrist and notices a slight shift when it moves. _"Something must've shifted when I clashed with Banesaw" _he thought, knowing he'll have to fix the slight problem when he returns to the _Mother of Invention._

"Commander!"

Adam turns to an orange-coloured Freelancer who has a cat's tail poking out of her armour. "How goes the clean up, Sargent?"

"All terrorists have been detained, as well as the recruits. Each are being transported onto different Bullheads. However, there has been three reported ally casualties" reported the Freelancer, much to the surprise of the Freelancer Commander.

"Three casualties?" repeated Adam, having not seen how any of the terrorists could have put up much a fight against the Freelancers.

"Two dead and one injured. The injured has reported that her assailant was the same one who was on the train" explained the Sargent.

Adam scowls and berates himself for missing the multicolored woman. Being so focused on Banesaw and Roman, he had completely forgotten about the woman who Girlie and Sharkface had faced off against on the train.

"Retrieve their bodies and bring them back to the ship. We'll send them back to their families after we finish cleaning up this mess" he sighed while watching his troops take away all the terrorists.

**xXx**

Cinder is going to kill somebody.

She isn't sure who yet, but whoever it may be, they're going to die a slow and agonizing death. Maybe she can snatch one of the Freelancers from the street without anyone noticing?

She has been going over her plans not too long ago before a sweaty and bloody Neo came running in with a panicked expression on her face.

That's when Neo used her Scroll to inform Cinder about what had happened at the White Fang recruitment drive. It turns out that not only did the simple task of recruiting new blood for the White Fang fail, but they had lost all of the White Fang who were there, including Banesaw and Roman who were arrested alongside with them.

Again, her plan is interrupted, thanks to the Freelancers. The only conciliation is that Banesaw knows the bare minimum about her involvement in the plan and Roman is smart enough to know that by ratting her out will only lead to his death. In fact, him being arrested is supposed to be part of the plan, but for Atlas, not the Freelancers!

Just as Cinder is considering setting someone on fire, she receives a call on her Scroll. Checking the caller ID, she sees that it's Taurus who's interrupting her bloodthirsty thoughts. Scowling, Cinder answers the call and places the Scroll to her ear. "I don't have time for this, Taurus."

"Then make time" replied Adam Taurus who can't see Cinder's scowl deepen. "I already know about the attack on the warehouse."

"Then you must know why I'm not exactly in a good mood" told Cinder who is considering setting Taurus on fire.

"That's why I'm calling. I've got good news. General Ironwood is arriving and he's coming with an entire fleet. He'll be taking over security from the Freelancers a week before the Vytal Festival tournament begins."

Cinder can feel her anger and frustrations soon fade away. Her edges of her lips even twitch upwards into a small smirk. "That is good news. Very good news."

If the Atlas military is going to show up with a whole fleet, then that means they'll be bringing a lot of their Atlesian Knights with them as well.

For once, Cinder feels like her plans are now back on track. Now, all she needs is to find the perfect time to sneak into the CCT.

**xXx**

**Author's Note: Apparently, Bloodhound is non-binary so they'll be referred to as "They" instead of "He" or "She". **


End file.
